In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we are pleased to welcome Laura Theodore, a.k.a., The Jazzy Vegetarian. 

 

We’re EXTRA excited about having Laura on the show because she was one of our inspirations for creating The Vegetarian Zen podcast.

 

Many of you know that we started Vegetarian Zen as a place for people to feel comfortable asking questions and learning more about being plant-based without feeling bullied or pressured. We wanted to focus on the positive aspects of being vegan or vegetarian, and Laura certainly brings that vibe.

 

Today we get to know Laura a little more and talk about her latest book, Vegan For Everyone. 

Be sure to scroll down to find links to a few recipes Laura shared with us!

 

Who Is Laura Theodore?

Laura Theodore is a nationally recognized television personality, radio host, celebrity PBS vegan chef, and award-winning author of five plant-based cookbooks. Season Eight of the Jazzy Vegetarian television show airs nationally every Sunday at 9:30 am EST on the Create Channel (check local listings).

Laura’s new podcast, Jazzy Vegetarian Radio airs live every Thursday on Unity Online Radio. Learn more at www.jazzyvegetarian.com.

 

Vegan for Everyone By The Jazzy Vegetarian

Vegan for Everyone is the perfect book for anyone looking to add easy-to-prepare and delicious, plant-based food into their weekly menu plan. This innovative cookbook features more than 160 family-friendly recipes (135 are gluten-free friendly) and over 200 beautiful, full-color photos, including 100+ new recipes, along with updated versions of 60 fan-favorites, all created by award-winning vegan chef Laura Theodore (PBS’s Jazzy Vegetarian).

 

 

This book includes an entire chapter of up-to-date nutritional information contributed by Julieanna Hever, MS, RD, CPT (The Plant-Based Dietitian), making it a complete and fun way to make family meals kinder, healthier and—most of all—tastier.

 

With classic recipes like No-Egg Tofu-Veggie Scramble, Crazy, Easy BBQ Portobello Burgers and Cauliflower Steaks with Sweet Pepper Sauce; kid-friendly recipes like Yummy Banana-Oat Pancakes, Rockin’ Peanut Butter-Banana Toast and Date n’ Rice Cereal Treats; and plant-based, gluten-free recipes like Peachy Date-Nut Oat Bars, Zucchini Fettuccine Alfredo, and Mad Mocha Marbled Mousse Pie, you’ll be able to delight your entire family and all of your guests with easy-to-prepare, four-star meals that are satisfying, nutritious and delicious!

 

Vegan for Everyone includes:

* Over 160 delectable vegan recipes, each with easy-to-follow instructions

* Full-color photo with almost every recipe (over 200 photos in all)

* Recipe ingredients that can be found at most local supermarkets

* Handy icons to quickly identify over 135 gluten-free friendly recipes

* Detailed lists of vegan essentials, including how to stock your plant-powered pantry and organize your spice rack and table of equivalent measures

* Many quick and easy three-ingredient recipes

* Festive recipes to serve for holidays, birthdays and any special occasion

* Comprehensive plant-based nutrition chapter, contributed by Julieanna Hever, MS, RD, CPT

 

Vegan for Everyone includes delightfully delicious, classic recipes to impress everyone you are cooking for—omnivores and vegans alike!

 

Recipes

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In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we are pleased to welcome Laura Theodore, aka. The Jazzy Vegetarian.

What's EXTRA exciting about having Laura on the show is that she was one of our inspirations for creating The Vegetarian Zen podcast.

Many of you know that we started Vegetarian Zen as a place for people to feel comfortable asking questions and learning more about being plant-based without feeling bullied or pressured. We wanted to focus on the positive aspects of being vegan or vegetarian.

Today we get to know Laura a little more and talk about her latest book, Vegan For Everyone.

Travel is very limited these days, but there are certainly still opportunities for us to support our local businesses.

 

In this episode of the podcast, we welcome Benjamin Hagerty and Brianne Nemiroff of the blog It’s Bree and Ben; Live and Travel Kindly.

 

Ben and Bree discuss their travels, which focus on learning about plant-based cuisine on the road, what it means to be a kind traveler, and how to support local businesses. The latter is especially important now, as we deal with a global pandemic. 

 

 

Who Are Ben and Bree?

 

 

Ben and Bree became a couple in 2009 and have always been passionate travelers.

 

After getting married In 2017 they took a long trip to explore more of the US and Canada. It was during this time they decided that they wanted to enjoy a travel lifestyle full-time! 

 

They began their trip in April 2017 by journeying into Canada, by way of the West Coast, and drove eastward from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

 

After spending six months exploring eight Canadian provinces, they ventured southward to visit New England and other cities on the East Coast to experience the fall foliage before returning home for the holidays. In Spring 2018, Bree and Ben drove eastward once again to explore more of the United States, focusing on the Southwest and the Midwest for another five months. 

 

During their travels, they enjoy checking out the local vegan scene and supporting small businesses along the way.

Be sure to follow Ben and Bree on their website, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.

 

Please note that some of the links on this page may be affiliate links.  That means at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase through one of our links. We never recommend or provide affiliate links to products or services we do not use ourselves or that come from a trusted resource. Our ultimate goal is to provide helpful products and advice to you, our readers and listeners.

 

A Special Thanks To Our Sponsors:

* The Golden Apple Roundtable (our Patrons) on Patreon!

* Cheery Bird Vintage

 

Further Reading:

* 6 Ways You Can Be Kind During the Coronavirus Epidemic

* Why You Should Shop Small and the Times It’s OK to Shop Big

 

Also Mentioned:

* Stage It

Thanks for listening!

Peace and Veggies,

Vickie and Larissa

In this episode of the VZ podcast, we're pleased to welcome Benjamin Hagerty and Brianne Nemiroff of the blog It's Bree and Ben: Live and Travel Kindly.

We talk to them about how they started out their life of travel and how they use their blog to help guide people to kind choices in travel, dining, and shopping.

A plant-based diet can be a POWERFUL tool to help you manage your diabetes. But did you know that it can even help you reverse it? In this episode of our podcast, we share 7 things you need to know about a plant-based diet and diabetes.

 

 

Disclaimer: We aren’t medical professionals or licensed nutritionists. The information we share here is intended for you to use when consulting a professional. 

 

A Plant-based Diet and Diabetes

A few weeks ago, Larissa had a bit of a scare with her blood sugar levels shooting up. Because she can’t take any medicines such as Metformin to help her control her diabetes (she’s allergic), she needs to ensure she’s eating right and moving. This recent scare prompted us to go back and review some of the basics of controlling diabetes. 

 

If you have diabetes (or someone you love does), here are 7 things you need to know.

 

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Don’t Hide Your Head in The Sand. Know Your Numbers!

After some persistent nagging, Larissa finally decided to stop avoiding it and check her blood sugar levels. Needless to say, it wasn’t good. Her blood sugar had risen higher than it had ever been.

Denying the truth will only make things worse! The sooner and more consistently you track your blood sugar levels, the sooner you can take control of the situation.

You can learn more about the importance of monitoring your numbers from the CDC website.

 

 

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Simply Avoiding Meat Isn’t a “Cure-All”

Just avoiding meat isn’t a complete fix for controlling or reversing diabetes but it is important. Why? Animal products contain a lot of saturated fat. Saturated fat causes heart disease and insulin resistance. 

Simply adopting a vegan or vegetarian diet doesn’t mean you’re adhering to a healthy diet. In fact, plenty of junk foods are vegan by accident, as we discussed in episode 286: Are Fritos Vegan?. 

Giving up animal products is definitely a step in the right direction but just remember, there’s more to a healthy diet than just giving up meat.

 

You Can Still Eat Fruit When You Have Diabetes

Fresh, frozen, and even canned fruits (without any added sugars) are actually perfectly fine to eat while managing your diabetes. 

Because they contain fructose (naturally occurring sugar) and are high in fiber, most fruits are low on the glycemic index (GI). 

A nice, juicy piece of fresh fruit can help satisfy your sweet tooth while providing you a good source of fiber and nutrients! 

 

You Can Still Have Carbohydrates…Just the Right Kind

Not all carbs are created equal! The key is to eat carbs that contain plenty of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. 

Carbs that come from processed foods don’t do this for you. Carbs that come from fruits and vegetables do. 

While there has been a lot of emphasis on cutting carbs to lose weight, this alone hasn’t proven effective for the treatment of diabetes. 

A study performed in 2003 by the National Institute of Health found that a plant-based diet helped control blood sugar about 3 times more than a diet that restricted carbs and calories. 

In a rather short period of time, those who participated in the study lost weight and their A1C levels dropped. 

In some cases, their diabetes was reversed completely! 

 

Limit high-fat foods.

A plant-based diet is a powerful tool in helping you manage your diabetes. It can even reverse it!

A few weeks ago, Larissa had a bit of a scare with her blood-sugar levels shooting up. Because she can't take any medicines such as Metformin to help her control her diabetes, she needs to ensure she's eating right and moving.

This recent scare made us go back and review some of the basics about controlling diabetes.

In this episode of the VZ podcast, we're going to share 7 things you should know about being diabetic on a plant-based diet.

Always talk to a doctor!

If you’ve struggled with the idea of going vegan because you can’t imagine life without some of your favorite foods, perhaps trying out part-time veganism is the thing for you!

 

In this episode of the podcast, we interview Siovonne Smith, author of The 3-Day Vegan.

 

In our interview, Siovonne discusses how an experiment to go vegan on a part-time basis eased her into eating vegan regularly.

 

 

Who is Siovonne Smith?

 

Siovonne Smith is a writer, photographer, explorer, and adventurer based in California.

 

From an early age, she became interested in nutrition specifically, how what we eat impacts our health.

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For more on 3 Day Vegan check out 3DayVegan.com.

 

To check out some of her other writing and projects follow @TitleWordSmith or check out TitleWordSmith.com.

 

Can I Really Eat Vegan on a Part-Time Basis?

 

If it works for you, then YES! You absolutely can!

 

When we first started podcasting in 2013, one of the things we discussed often was how having an “all-or-nothing” mentality can prevent people from even trying a plant-based diet in the first place.

 

While some people can go completely plant-based overnight, others might take time to settle into this new lifestyle. We all have or own timelines and we should respect each other’s journeys.

 

Please note that some of the links on this page may be affiliate links.  That means at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase through one of our links. We never recommend or provide affiliate links to products or services we do not use ourselves or that come from a trusted resource. Our ultimate goal is to provide helpful products and advice to you, our readers and listeners.

 

A Special Thanks To Our Sponsors:

* Buddha Bowls: The Vegetarian Zen Way

 

Thanks for listening!

Peace and Veggies,

Vickie and Larissa

Today we are excited to welcome Siovonne Smith, author of the book The 3-Day Vegan.

When we reviewed Siovanne's book, The 3-Day Vegan, we really resonated with the message.

In her book, Siovanne gives you step by step suggestions, inspiration, and motivation to help you ease into veganism 3 days at a time.

Whether you're a vegetarian looking to incorporate some vegan days or, you're an omnivore who isn't really interested in becoming vegetarian or vegan but would simply like to reduce your consumption of meat and dairy, this book has something for you!

As we deal with the global COVID-19 pandemic, staying healthy is essential. One of the ways to do this is to keep our digestive systems healthy. Enter probiotics; more specifically, VEGAN probiotics! 

 

You can check out our discussion of vegan probiotics here…

…or read on for a quick summary.

 

The human digestive system contains a lot of bacteria, most of which are harmless. Collectively, these microorganisms are referred to as gut flora and are found primarily in the colon and large intestine. They’re SUPER helpful to the body in a couple of ways; they help to control the digestive process and keep your immune system in check.  

 

Gut flora, along with other organisms living in the body (such as viruses and fungi) make up your microbiome. Each person’s microbiome is TRULY unique, and is determined partly by genetics and partly by the environment. 

 

When harmful gut flora outnumbers harmless gut flora, the body can get out of whack. 

Possible health problems that can arise include:

* heart disease

* upset stomach (and/or chronic stomach issues)

* obesity

* cancer

* diabetes

* inflammation

* skin issues (such as acne)

 

What are Probiotics?

Probiotics are live microorganisms that can help manage good gut bacteria, which results in a variety of health benefits.

The most common types of probiotics are:

L. acidophilus (Lactobacillus reuteri) — mostly found in dairy products; aids in digestion and helps reduce vaginal bacteria

B. longum (Bifidobaterium longum) — helps your body break down carbs

L. reuteri — Has been shown to help reduce bad bacteria in your mouth

B. breve (Bifidobacterium breve) — has been used to fight infections; helps absorb nutrients and fiber

B. animalis — found in some yogurt, such as Dannon’s Activia; has immune-boosting properties and helps with digestion

B. lactis — derived from raw milk; helps digestion and immune functions

 

What Do They Do for Your Body?

An unhealthy gut can lead to all sorts of health issues. Probiotics can help your body balance the good gut flora in your body.  

 

 

Antibiotics, for example, can cause gut flora to become imbalanced, which may lead to stomach upset and digestive issues such as diarrhea. 

 

What Do They Do for Your Brain? 

Probiotics may also have positive effects on mental health.

Studies have shown that mood–and some mental disorders–can be impacted by the bacteria in our intestines. Certain strains of probiotics have been shown to have a positive impact on treating disorders such as OCD, depression, anxiety, and autism. 

We don’t often realize how much of our overall health is dependent on the state of our intestines! 

 

 

What’s the Difference Between Prebiotics and Probiotics? 

Prebiotics are plant fibers that help stimulate the growth of healthy gut flora. They help create the ideal environment in which beneficial microorganisms can grow. 

 

Prebiotics are found in fruits and vegetables that contain complex carbs and fiber including, but not limited to:

Onions

Garlic

Leeks

Asparagus 

Bananas

Apples

Oats

Tempeh

 

Are There Any Risks of Taking Probiotics? 

It seems like probiotics would be a great thing to add to one’s diet, and for most people, they are!

Generally speaking, probiotics are safe,

As we are currently dealing with a global pandemic, it's essential that we are keeping ourselves healthy. One of the ways we keep ourselves healthy is by keeping our guts healthy.

In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we're going to talk about probiotics. More specifically, we'll be talking about vegan probiotics. We'll talk about what they are and the best sources.