The VedgeTalk Podcast

This weeks game changing guest is Nisha Balsara. Actress, Youtuber and incredible human from Los Angeles, CA.

 We recorded this one on the floor of her new apartment in LA, as we caught her on moving day!

Nisha sets a fantastic example for women of color and people in general. She’s goes about veganism in a light, approachable way, but don’t confuse this with lack of dedication. She is an incredible voice for the plant based diet and what it can do for health, the animals and the planet.



In this episode we cover:



- Growing up in Texas, with parents from Canada and India. 


- Experiencing acting set backs at a young age.



- What it’s like to have a serious health problem.



- Relationships with non-vegans.



- The important of diversity in the entertainment industry.



+ More!



Nisha has an amazing personal story and I am so happy to be sharing it with you today, hope you enjoy the show!



You can find Nisha on Instagram at @nishabalsara and also YouTube. She has her own channel, ‘Nisha Balsara’ and is also a part of ‘The Vegan View’.

This weeks game changing guests are Hannah and Derek Howlett, they are well known for their work ‘High Carb Hannah’ and ‘Handeeman’.

If you follow Hannah and Derek on YouTube, you already know they have built an awesome off grid Tiny Home in Arizona with rain water catchment and solar set up.

Since recording the show, Derek has added thousands of gallons more water storage and also finished a massive garage project that was half done when I visited.

In today’s conversation we cover:



- Their reasons for choosing a vegan lifestyle.



- Why they decided to live in a tiny home.



- Minimal living.



- The challenges of living together in a tiny home.



- How they can financially support themselves from online work.



- Making sound financial decisions.



- Their experience with Psychedelics! 



+ More!


I hope you enjoy this episode.



You can find Hannah at @highcarbhannah on Instagram and YouTube, she also has a website https://highcarbhannah.co. Derek can be found at @handeeman on Instagram and YouTube.

This weeks game changing guest is Dr. Angie Sadeghi.

Dr. Angie is a gastroenterologist based in the OC area of California, originally from Iran, her and her family immigrated here when she was young.

After firstly going vegetarian, Angies eyes were opened up to the power of a plant based diet, and she quickly incorporated this into her practice, also diving deep into the literature to learn as much as she could, so she could treat and heal her patients.

In this episode we cover:



- Angie’s background.



- How she became a gastroenterologist. 


- SIBO.



- IBS.



- C.Diff.

- Why humans shouldn’t consume dairy products.



- The importance of fiber.



- Protein powders.

Thank you to Angie for giving up the time to come on the show, I really enjoyed learning from her, I hope you are able to come away from this episode with a better understanding of what our gut needs to function healthily!



You can find Dr. Angie on Instagram @angie.sadeghi and also at https://drangiehealth.com/

This weeks game changing guest is Jacky Wasserman, founder of vegan clothing company BeetxBeet, based out of Los Angeles, CA.

This was our first day in Los Angeles, and I don’t think we could have spent the time any better. Jacky was an amazing guest and I think you will really enjoy her story from growing up in Atlanta to owning an apparel company in Los Angeles.

In this episode we cover:

- Jacky’s life growing up in Atlanta, GA.

- Experiencing the world of design though multiple jobs.

- Entering and winning a competition that was run by Obey’s Shepherd Fairy.

- Going vegan in America’s Deep South.

- Packing up everything into her Honda Civic and moving to LA.

- Deciding to leave her well paid job with benefits behind.

- The BeetxBeet journey.

+ More!

I hope you enjoy the show!

You can find Jacky online @beetxbeet on Instagram and at www.beetxbeet.com, they’ve got awesome vegan clothing, go check it out!

This weeks game changing guest is Collin Blaney, photographer, videographer and traveler from San Francisco, CA.

I met up with Collin in 2017 whilst on a work layover in Iceland, he was on a trip that you will hear about in this episode and we started chatting about veganism, before hearing more about their trip through Iceland and the Faroe Islands. We stayed in touch and he has helped me to develop my skills with photography whilst absolutely crushing it himself.

Collin is currently growing his Instagram following, producing incredible images, traveling the USA and the world and collaborating with more companies who demand his skills for their brand.

In this conversation we cover:

- Collin’s background, growing up in CA.

- Why he left college before graduating.

- Making money by flipping houses.

- When he got into photography.

- Nikon, Canon or Sony?

- Making this his business.

+ More!

I hope you enjoy this episode.

You can find Collin on Instagram @collincreates and also at https://www.collincreates.com/

This weeks game changing guest is Miyoko Schinner, yes THE Miyoko, founder of Miyoko’s, the plant based cheese company revolutionizing dairy.

Growing up as a vegetarian, Miyoko’s passion for fine food ignited during the 1980’s when rich and flavorful French cuisine and gourmet cheeses were a huge trend in her home city of Tokyo.

As a self confessed cheese-a-holic, she found herself conflicted by her culinary tastes and her compassion for animals. Like many vegetarians, she struggled to give up these dairy rich foods.

In true Miyoko style, she went vegan and boldly set out to create plant-based cheese and cuisine as artistic and decadent as the finest French foods she fell in love with.

In this conversation we cover:

- Miyoko’s life in Japan as a child.

- The sweet potato cart story.

- Moving to America with her family.

- The way America changed the way they ate.

- Going back to Japan, after becoming a cheese addict.

- The challenges of entrepreneurship.

- Rancho Relaxo, Miyoko’s farm sanctuary.

- Starting Miyoko’s Creamery.

- What’s in store for the future of the company.

+ More!

I hope you really enjoy this episode.

You can find Miyoko on Instagram at @miyokoscreamery and @miyokoschinner. The company website is https://miyokos.com/

This weeks game changing guest is Caitlin Shoemaker, the creator of From My Bowl, an amazing online resource for delicious vegan recipes.

We recorded with Caitlin whilst traveling through Portland, Oregon, where she has recently moved after spending time in Miami for her graduate degree, which she left to pursue online work full time!

Caitlin is an extremely hard working and dedicated young woman, who focuses on giving people easy recipes to follow, that are delicious and vegan.

In this episode we cover:

- Her life growing up on the East Coast of the United States.

- Deciding to choose a vegan lifestyle.

- Moving to Miami for graduate school.

- Starting From My Bowl.

- The journey, from posting her morning oatmeal to starting a business.

- Making the big decision to quit school and focus on her blog and YouTube.

- Her 5 favorite spices (AKA the spice girls)

+ More!

I hope you enjoy the show today, I think this is a great one for any body looking to turn their passion into a business.

You can find Caitlin on Instagram @frommybowl and her blog at www.frommybowl.com. On Caitlin’s website you will find links to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube!

This weeks game changing guest is Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr AKA ‘Essy’. He is the trail blazing pioneer (or one of) of the whole food plant based movement.

Ana and I were driving through Cleveland on Thanksgiving 2018, which is a time of year all of the Esselstyn’s get together for family time and eat delicious plant food!

We were lucky enough to get some time with Ann and Essy the day after to record this podcast and also have an amazing lunch which Ann created. Their daughter Jane also stopped by!

Honestly this was a pretty cool moment for me personally. Back in 2016 when I decided to make the switch to a plant based diet, it was he and Dr. T Colin Campbell, exercising at over 80 years of age and still working that showed me this was the way to go.

In this episode we cover:

- Dr. Esselstyn’s background.

- Winning a gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.

- His years in the field of medicine.

- What made him interested in cardiovascular disease.

- Why humans get heart disease.

- How we can end heart disease, through diet and lifestyle intervention.

- Healthcare or sick care?

+ More!

I hope you enjoy this episode. It was an honor to sit down with a man who has changed so many lives and continues to spread this incredible message at 85 years old.

You can find Dr. Esselstyn on Instagram @dresselstyn and at www.dresselstyn.com

Hello there veggie mates, I am stoked to be with you again for another episode of The VedgeTalk Podcast, I am your host, Matthew Davey, you just heard from Jenny McQueen and today we will be hearing from Jenny and her Husband Peter.

Ana and I stayed with them whilst we were in Toronto and were so grateful for their amazing hospitality during a very cold few days in Toronto! They are two of the nicest humans we have met, and it’s been a highlight of our time on the road. 

Jenny is from the UK and moved to Canada when her and Peter got married, she left an animal activism scene that she had helped to grow and was very well established for a scene that was not as prevalent. This was tough in the beginning but the perfect opportunity for her to get involved with the Toronto vegan scene, which is now booming today. Jenny details her experience with open rescues, disruptions and her current situation with charges that have been laid against her.

Peter is a Toronto native and has been involved with the vegetarian/vegan movement for a long time, he recounts his journey to veganism and also how he proposed to Jenny in the UK! 

During our stay, Jenny suggested that we attend a cow save vigil in Toronto. This will forever be something burned into mine and Ana’s memory. An experience I think all people can learn from just by watching. Experiencing the sounds, smells and exchanging eye contact with these animals is powerful and something a video cannot provide. We later attended a pig save event in Burlington ON two days later. It’s not a warm and fuzzy experience, however it is only a couple of hours out of our day, to bare witness and see these animals in their last moments. A big thank you to Jenny and Peter for having us and for coming on the show! I hope you enjoy the conversation, see you all at the end!

This weeks game changing guest is Amie Hamlin from The Coalition For Healthy School Food.

Amie has helped to educate children, parents and teachers about healthy plant based food and the benefits it has on our health and environment.

In addition school admin are able to learn about the benefits healthy nutrition has on the students' focus, attendance and grades!

In this episode we cover:

- Amie’s Background.

- The Coalition For Healthy School Food Program.

- How we can educate children, parents and staff of the benefits a plant based diet can have.

- Dairy in schools.

- The effect of nutrition on focus, attendance and grades.

- Raising her daughter vegan.

+ More!

I hope you all enjoy the show.

You can find The Coalition For Healthy School Food online at https://healthyschoolfood.org/