Stop Staring At The Scale & Turn The Gaze Inward — The Emotional Drivers Behind Diet & Behavior (Plus: Tales From Das Plantpower Kochbuch German Book Tour)

On a rainy night from a little boutique hotel in the Montmartre district of Paris after a whirlwind book tour in Germany last week, I'm filled with gratitude to bring you another installment of Ask Me Anything — a twist on my normal format where Julie and I discuss issues currently on the brain and answer listener submitted questions. This week's topics include: * tales from Das Plantpower Kochbuch German book tour * the Berlin vegan scene * shopping at the world's first all vegan supermarket * hanging out with vegan strong man Patrik Baboumian * plant-based in Paris * vegan birthday at L'Arpège, the #12 best restaurant on Earth * why you should stop “dieting” * addressing the emotional drivers behind diet & behavior habits * plant-based on the road — tips and tools The show concludes with Aditya, an ancient Sanskrit mantra performed by Julie — aka SriMati – musically accompanied by our sons Tyler & Trapper Piatt. A mantra intended to imbue our lives with vibrant health, the lyrics (very) loosely translated from the root Sankskrit go something like this: Om to the solar universal energy / Protect me from enemies within and without / I chant your name ceaselessly and victoriously / I bow to you Special thanks to everyone who submitted inquiries — keep ‘em coming! An extra special thanks to everyone who took a moment to send me a birthday message. I greatly appreciate it. Beginning my 50th year feeling awesome! I sincerely hope you enjoy the conversation. Peace + Plants, Rich Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Rich Roll?

  Eating well rarely falls apart because of one big failure. It's the daily question that wears you down like, what am I actually going to make tonight? What's in the fridge? And it's exactly why we built the Plant Power Meal Planner. It's a personalized, plant-based meal planning program that matches you with recipes based on your taste, your allergies, your cooking skills, and how much time you actually have. You build, through this program, a balanced, nutrient-dense plan for your entire household in a few minutes. Then it generates a grocery list for you with one click that plugs right into our delivery partners. All the recipes in the program are built by dietitians with culinary training. Plus, you get your own food coach to help you problem solve along the way.

• 0:44Rich Roll?

  It's kind of an amazing thing. For listeners of the show, all you special people, we're offering an exclusive $20 off an annual subscription right now. To get it, go to meals.richroll.com, take your quick personalization quiz, and enter promo code RICHROLL20 at checkout.

• 1:17Rich Roll?

  Hey, everybody. What's going on? What's happening? I am your host. I am Rich Roll. This is the Rich Roll Podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Welcome to the show. Hey, Julie.

• 1:26Speaker 01

  Hey, Rich.

• 1:27Rich Roll?

  How are you?

• 1:28Speaker 01

  Bonjour.

• 1:29Rich Roll?

  Bonjour. My co-host today, this is our German-French edition of the Ask Me Anything episode.

• 1:36Speaker 01

  Actually, it's coming straight to you from Paris.

• 1:40Rich Roll?

  From Paris. We're in Paris right now. Montmartre. Mont- Mont- Mont- Montre.

• 1:44Speaker 01

  That was OK.

• 1:45Rich Roll?

  Was that OK? In the, I don't know what district we're in, the 18th arrêt des Montres.

• 1:51Speaker 01

  Arrêt des Montres.

• 1:52Rich Roll?

  Yeah, so it's been a while. I took French, you know, I took French in high school for many years, but it has escaped me.

• 1:58Speaker 01

  I know, you keep saying that, but it doesn't seem to help much.

• 1:59Rich Roll?

  I'm doing pretty good with the comprehension part, not so good on the speaking part, the vocabulary.

• 2:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, me too.

• 2:05Rich Roll?

  Not so good. But I found that if I talk in either a German or a French accent in English, this is very effective.

• 2:13Speaker 01

  It's confusing.

• 2:13Rich Roll?

  I know. Yes, it's good. We do this. Yes, you would like.

• 2:17Speaker 01

  No, it's kind of funny because you actually turned to me and started speaking to me in that voice. I mean, we had a funny laugh.

• 2:23Rich Roll?

  We were in Germany and I don't know, the details aren't important, but I was like, yes, and this person I know. I like this. You looked at me like, who are you? It just happened.

• 2:34Speaker 01

  I said, what have you done with my husband?

• 2:36Rich Roll?

  I know, right? That's what happens.

• 2:38Speaker 01

  No, you used to tease me.

• 2:39Rich Roll?

  It's like you pretend that you know the language, but you don't at all.

• 2:42Speaker 01

  No, but you used to tease me because I used to speak English like that to my European friends and you used to really tease me relentlessly. So it was funny to hear you shift into the into the lingo. So it worked well.

• 2:55Rich Roll?

  A couple European friends back home in Los Angeles. And if you spent a little bit too much time with them, you would come home with that kind of like truncated English that sounds like a German person speaking English as opposed to just talking the way that you talk. So that's what's funny about human beings, right? I guess. So, all right. Well, you guys know the deal. This is the podcast where we talk about big ideas. We converse with the outliers across all categories of positive paradigm breaking culture change. Why do we do this, Julie? What is the point of all this?

• 3:30Speaker 01

  We do this so that we can all be inspired to unlock and unleash our most authentic, best self.

• 3:38Rich Roll?

  There you go.

• 3:38Speaker 01

  How's that?

• 3:39Rich Roll?

  You got it. That's pretty good. So, uh, thank you, everybody for subscribing to the show, for giving us a review on iTunes. If you haven't done that, take a moment, just give us a review on iTunes. It really helps us out a lot with all that ranking algorithm, uh, sort of mysterious nonsense that goes on over at iTunes.

• 3:56Speaker 01

  Cannot be figured out.

• 3:57Rich Roll?

  Yeah. Uh, so.

• 3:58Speaker 01

  We have no idea how it works.

• 3:59Rich Roll?

  So yeah, take a moment and do that, please. Uh, and thank you to everybody who's been using the Amazon banner ad at richroll.com for all your Amazon purchases. You can find the Amazon banner out. I tried to like make it tasteful and not like some crazy, you know, click here thing with a bunch of arrows around it. But if you just go to richroll.com/podcast, you'll see it. It's right there on the main podcast page. Just click that, takes you to Amazon. And then whatever you end up buying, we get a little credit and Amazon kicks us some commission change. It doesn't cost you anything extra. They don't like increase the cost of whatever you're buying. And I think it's just a cool way to support the show. You're probably going to buy something on Amazon anyway.

• 4:40Rich Roll?

  And puts a little wind in our sails and allows us to continue doing what we do.

• 4:45Speaker 01

  That's right. Bringing you all this free content. So, thank you. We appreciate it.

• 4:49Rich Roll?

  Very much, very much so. So, on that note, and in the interest of taking care of a little business.

• 5:05Rich Roll?

  Okay, cool. So, we're in Paris. How are you feeling about being in Paris, Julie?

• 5:09Speaker 01

  Feeling amazing about being in Paris. It feels so great to be back. I lived here for six months during college and been back a few times since then. It's one of my favorite cities. It truly is an extraordinary place on the planet. And I just, I feel amazing and blessed to be here and just soaking it all up, for sure.

• 5:28Rich Roll?

  Yeah, it's cool. We're here. It was my birthday yesterday. Thank you to everybody who sent me a nice birthday email, or text, or Facebook post, or tweet, or what have you. I really appreciate that. It means a lot to me. I turned 49 yesterday, so I'm in my 50th year, feeling spry as a 24-year-old. I just got back from a beautiful run all around Paris, which is my favorite thing to do. This is, it's been many years since I've been in Paris, like at least. Fifteen, maybe like twenty, twenty years. No, no, not quite that long.

• 6:02Speaker 01

  You said you came when you were sixteen, right?

• 6:04Rich Roll?

  Right, so I'm forty-nine. Well, yeah, so I would have been nine when I was here. I think actually the last time, I think the last, maybe the only time I've ever been here, I was sixteen. So that, that's, and, and I, I forgot how large the city is and how complicated the streets are. And it's, you know, it doesn't, it sort of goes all over the place. So rather than like study a map and try to figure out where to go, I just went outside the hotel and just started running all around and got completely lost. But it was cool. That's what I like to do, to explore and felt amazing way to kick off my fiftieth year. With the exception of doing a podcast and bringing the experience to you guys. So thanks again for the birthday wishes and it's not like we just came to Paris for my birthday.

• 6:47Rich Roll?

  This is the, we're in the kind of two-thirds into a little bit of a European jaunt that has to do with promoting not only the Plant Power Way, but the German edition of the Plant Power Way, Das Plant Power Kochbuch, which just came out. And we went, we were originally in, well, their purpose was to go to the Frankfurt Book Fair. So let's walk, let's walk them through the trip. There were some pretty cool things that happened. I mean, the first thing is we flew in, when we looked at the itinerary, I was like, why are we going to all these places if we're just going to the book fair? But it turned out to be pretty, a pretty awesome experience in Germany.

• 7:21Speaker 01

  Dynamic week.

• 7:22Rich Roll?

  Yeah, we flew into Basel, which is the Swiss, German, French border, basically. And drove about, I don't know, thirty minutes to a small town in southern Germany, like the southwestern part of Germany called Condern, which is where, it's a little village at the edge of the Black Forest where the headquarters for our German publishing house exists. And they're called Narriana Verlag. And it's this beautiful, like, sort of renovated, authentic villa, like in the square of this little village in rural Germany. And inside this building is not only a publishing house, but also amazingly a full homey

• 8:07Rich Roll?

  Homeopathic medical clinic that's run by a brother and a sister. The publishing house, an apartment where we stayed, a complete, full, like semi-industrial kitchen where they have a plant-based chef preparing meals. They have a staff of all kinds of people. Like, what else is going on there?

• 8:27Speaker 01

  It was surreal. It's like we arrived to this amazing apartment and looked in the kitchen and it was fully stocked with everything from my cookbook. And we saw copies of The Plant Power Way in German, sort of sprinkled throughout, and all the other amazing vegan books which they publish. And then they, one of the chefs had prepared Rich's birthday apple pie already. And so they started to us when we arrived and they had made it with cashew cream and it was extremely delicious. So I knew from that point on that we were going to be very well taken care of because later on, we had one of the best vegan meals I've ever had. And just the vibration and the energy of the cooks, they're, they're

• 9:11Speaker 01

  all meditators. And it was just really surreal, really quite nice.

• 9:16Rich Roll?

  Yeah, they, they're sort of known in Germany as being the house that publish, publishes the plant-based kind of primers out there. And they do all of Brendan Brazier's books. And they also have all these nutritional products and homeopathic products on their website. So in the pre-roll ad for this episode, you might have heard me give out the URL, it's naryana-verlog.com. And you, you can get not only like all of these amazing German translations of popular plant-based themed books that are, that are put out in the United States, but also superfoods and, you know, like Vega products and homeopathic remedies. So it's, it's pretty cool how they've integrated kind of wellness with publishing.

• 10:00Speaker 01

  Right. And so rather than sort of adapt the recipes to fit a region, they're actually maintaining the authenticity of the recipes and then working very hard to supply the ingredients via an online store, which is extraordinary. So you can get all of the ingredients. That, you know, we're sourcing in the US, you can get them, you know, in Europe.

• 10:23Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 10:24Speaker 01

  Internationally.

• 10:24Rich Roll?

  Which is going to dovetail into something we're going to talk about a little bit later, which is, you know, sort of plant-based on the road. And also, you know, if you live in a place that's very different from where we like, if you live in Europe, now there's another opportunity through this website to get all of these sort of ingredients and products that, you know, that can kind of buttress your health quotient in your kitchen, which is pretty cool, as this kind of trend starts to explode and expand, which is great and really nice. So, so initially, I was like, why are we going to the here first? Why can't we just go to the book fair? But it was a great place to kind of decompress and adjust to the eight-hour time difference. And I got to go running in the Black Forest. And, you know, Julie got to play her sitar and, you know, like, meditate and do some

• 11:09Rich Roll?

  yoga and like acclimate. And we ate amazing food. And it was just, you know, it was kind of a great way to just kind of immerse ourselves in German culture before we had to go into the craziness that is the Frankfurt Book Fair.

• 11:21Speaker 01

  Yeah. And it was really also just such a blessing for us and, you know, a treat to be able to sit inside the Black Forest and be in the moisture with the ferns growing and all the ivy and these, you know, huge ancient trees. It felt, you know, truly like my cells were soaking up, you know, much-needed water, extremely dry in California where we are right now. And so it was magical. And of course, I've always heard about the Black Forest being associated with really amazing levels of health and, you know, nutrition and healthy living and connection to nature and even mystical, you know, elements. So

• 12:01Speaker 01

  I was extremely happy to meditate, sitting against a tree for some hours in the Black

• 12:07Rich Roll?

  Isn't the Black Forest like the sort of source of all these, some of these fairy tales, like Little Red Riding Hood and like?

• 12:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think so. Of course.

• 12:16Rich Roll?

  All that kind of stuff supposedly takes place in that forest.

• 12:18Speaker 01

  I think it has a, you know, definitely a Wiccan healer, you know, history and lineage.

• 12:24Rich Roll?

  Well, going running in there, I mean, you can get so lost so quick. There's just paths and trails and roads going and every, I mean, I suppose if you just keep running, you'd probably end up in the next village over or something like that. But it looks like you could just disappear in there. Ever to be found from again.

• 12:38Speaker 01

  Very beautiful, very lush and very beautiful. And also, you know, we went to a farmer's market, local farmer's market as well, in this amazing town called Freiburg, which is supposed to be like the hip sort of college town

• 12:53Rich Roll?

  It's like a college town.

• 12:54Speaker 01

  of this area. And anyway, the farmer's market was insane. I wish I'd had a week to just stay here and cook sourcing.

• 13:03Rich Roll?

  Well, it's gotta be one of the oldest farmer's markets like on planet Earth because it's at the base of this insane cathedral. And the cathedral was built in, in like medieval times. Like, I don't know what the date of it was. Like, what did they say? They said it was, it was built like, I don't know what the date is, but really old, right? Especially when you're American, you're like.

• 13:22Speaker 01

  Old with a capital O.

• 13:24Rich Roll?

  And they had like little rectangles and squares that were like etched into the wall at about, you know, eye height. And apparently those, as the, as the lore goes, as the story goes, the merchants, the sort of farmers that would come in, would use those as sizes to calibrate prices for certain like produce products, I guess. So it's basically the indication being that like there was a farmer's market going on here in like, you know, the 1400s or whatever. And it's still going on like most days. I think it's, it's not just like one day a week.

• 13:57Speaker 01

  She said every day.

• 13:58Rich Roll?

  Yeah, like every day.

• 13:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's incredible.

• 13:59Rich Roll?

  And the produce is, is like insane with these incredible mushrooms. The mushrooms in the Black Forest are like, you know, that's the thing, right? So tons of those. And anyway, delicious. And a sort of sensibility and awareness about organic produce that I think is on a higher level, you know, in terms of, of sort of prioritization that it is in the United States. Like they're, they're totally into organic. Like they have a lot more awareness about GMOs and things like that. Like in terms of labeling and whatever. They're, I think they're just a little bit more progressive on that front. In terms of regulations and legislations, but anyway, we super enjoyed that. We did, so we just did some media in Freiburg and then we got in a car and we went to Frankfurt

• 14:43Rich Roll?

  for this book fair. And we had heard like, oh yeah, the Frankfurt Book Fair, we're going there to announce the German release of The Cookbook. It's a huge book fair. It's the biggest book fair. I think it's the biggest international book fair in the world.

• 14:55Speaker 01

  In the world.

• 14:55Rich Roll?

  And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But like, it'll probably be like National Food Products Expo or something like that. I was imagining just like a big trade show, right? It's so much bigger than you can imagine. Like, it takes over just a massive number of gigantic auditorium halls, like just a huge amount of like square footage in this, like multiple centers, right, in Frankfurt?

• 15:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, there are like six halls and it's, it's a massive, massive building, multiple buildings that are connected with just thousands of people just, you know, all pushing up against each other going on for multiple days. It was quite a turnout. And, you know, you definitely looked around and said, wow, people are really buying a lot of books.

• 15:41Rich Roll?

  Yeah, like, I guess books are still a thing.

• 15:43Speaker 01

  Books are still happening.

• 15:44Rich Roll?

  You know, like, you think, like, oh, no one reads anymore, or it's all going electronic or whatever. But I can tell you, like, based on what we observed at this event, like, oh yeah, like, I think the book business still is, on some level, thriving.

• 15:57Speaker 01

  That's really amazing.

• 15:58Rich Roll?

  I mean, based on what we observed and how many people were there, it was like crazy. So, it was great. We were able to do a bunch of, you know, press interviews about the release to the German public, and we got to connect with a bunch of people who came out, you know, people who live around Germany or proximate to Germany to come out and say hello and connect with, which was really nice. One really special moment was when Jamie, who lives in Newcastle.

• 16:25Speaker 01

  Hi, Jamie.

• 16:27Rich Roll?

  In the United Kingdom, like, the northern part of Britain. He's the guy behind the Rich Roll Fans UK Twitter account.

• 16:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, so follow there.

• 16:36Rich Roll?

  So, he's a superfan, and he literally got on a plane, flew to Amsterdam, and then flew to Frankfurt, just to meet us, and wasn't even sure if he was gonna be able to, like, if we were gonna be around when he was there. Like, he just wanted to connect with us. And luckily, we were there and we were able to hang out with him, and that was like, really special and cool.

• 16:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was super, super touching, really amazing guy. And he's a teacher, a school teacher, and recently has left like standardized education. And he is teaching autistic children now, and his wife is a nurse. And he just really, really felt inspired and to come and meet Rich. Really, really, he really, really wanted to meet you. And it was just, it blew me away. It made me cry, actually. He has such a beautiful face and in purity of heart. And it was just blew us away that you made the trip. So Jamie, thanks for having the courage

• 17:35Speaker 01

  and persevering and stepping out of your comfort zone. And Rich and I hope to see you again for sure down the road.

• 17:44Rich Roll?

  It's not a small thing. I mean, he's on a teacher's salary, so he's not making very much money. It's expensive, you know, that he would like do that. It's just, it blows me away that somebody would do that. I just, you know, I don't, like I said, I don't take it lightly. Like, that means a lot that somebody would do that. So, thank you, Jamie. And it was cool to meet you. I'm sure we'll be talking a little bit more soon. And just so many other people that turned out, right? We also gave a talk at this sustainability conference. It was sort of like a veg fest. Some of the veg fest that I've been in the United States to, it was called Heldenmarkt. And it was in this beautiful, old kind of hall with like gigantic high ceilings and kind of open air, like indoor marketplace. And Julie did a

• 18:29Rich Roll?

  cooking demo. We gave a little talk. And there were a couple hundred people that showed up for that, which was super fun. So, yeah, we were kind of like on a little tour in Germany.

• 18:38Speaker 01

  That was very cool. The Heldenmarkt was really an amazing building and a great event. And we had so many podcast fans show up for that and coming with their books. So, everybody who came out to that, we really appreciate it. Cyrus and Sabine and Georgina and Manfred and Malta, Malta twice. Anyway, it was really cool to see you guys and just make that connection. And it means a lot to us. It was a really amazing event. It was a little, little strange doing a cooking demo in German with somebody sort of translating in German and also the ingredients not really all being all there. So, but it was more about us talking and

• 19:21Speaker 01

  sharing our story. So, we didn't get too caught up in the actual. Cooking, which is how Rich and I do it anyway in the States. And we also were able to do an amazing cooking demo at the Frankfurt Book Fair, which was really cool as well. So we had, you know, probably 100 people and, you know, it was being filmed. And we were there in the Mele Kitchen, which is a fantastic gourmet gallery. It was definitely where all the chefs showcased their food. So it was wonderful to be included in that as well. So it was a beautiful experience.

• 19:53Rich Roll?

  Yeah, it was great. And also, when we were in Frankfurt, we got to hang out with Patrick Baboomian, the world's strongest man, you know, vegan dude, the human Wolverine. For those of you don't know who he is, he broke a world record in Toronto a couple of years ago. I was there with him at the Toronto Veg Fest where he set a Guinness Book of World Records for most weight carried by a human being ever, 550 kilograms, which is like 1,200 pounds, on this chassis, I forget what you call it, like a yoke that he puts on his shoulders that has all these metal plates on it. And he has to go 10 meters in a certain amount of time with that amount of weight on it, which was pretty cool. He

• 20:35Rich Roll?

  then broke that record again. And we were able to sit down and do a podcast and we were exhausted. It was at the end of a very long day of doing press stuff. And I was like, I hope we can just get like an hour out of this before we have to go eat. We ended up talking for three hours. So it was pretty epic. I think we could have talked all day. I'm sure I'll have him on the podcast again, but you have that episode to look forward to coming up soon, right? We made some videos with a guy called Jens Naller, who's a marathon runner, plant-based dude, journalist in Frankfurt, which was really fun. And then we went to Berlin, which I'd never been to Berlin before.

• 21:13Speaker 01

  That's right. But before we go to Berlin, I just have to, I just have to share the most mind blowing experience maybe of my entire life happened. We're going through security in Frankfurt and I travel-

• 21:25Rich Roll?

  At the airport.

• 21:25Speaker 01

  At the airport. And where else is there security?

• 21:28Rich Roll?

  Well, I'm just being clear so people understand. Well, maybe we're at the train station or something.

• 21:33Speaker 01

  So we're at the airport, I'm going through security and I travel with my sitar now wherever I go. And I've gotten pretty, I'm pretty comfortable traveling with it. And I managed to make my way through security and all that without too much problem. And there was a security officer who was completely- Uh, just enthralled with my sitar and he, you know, he asked me, what is that? Is that a sitar? And I said, yes. And he said, oh my God, you know, George Harrison was my favorite Beatle. Will you play for us?

• 22:02Rich Roll?

  And it's in this big like burgundy case, like it's kind of dramatic looking. It has wheels on it and you roll it.

• 22:08Speaker 01

  It's very tall.

• 22:09Rich Roll?

  Everywhere we go, when we're in airports, people are always stopping you. What is that? What is that? Like, it's like a topic of conversation. Uh, but, but this guy took it to the next level.

• 22:19Speaker 01

  No, so I said, you know, I kind of laughed. Ha, ha, yeah, I love the Beatles too. And then, you know, then he asked me again, he said, would you, would you play for us? And, uh, I was getting my things and I said, oh, you know, I don't know if I have time. You know, our flight's leaving. He's like, when does your flight leave? And I said, oh, in an hour. Oh no, it's just there. You have time. Will you play for us? So I looked at him and I said, are you serious? And he goes, yes. He goes, we never, we've never heard it before. So I said, okay. So I got my case out and got my stuff, opened my case up, spread my poncho down on the floor. Cause I have to play it sitting down, cross legged in a certain position. So I get it all set and I actually played sitar and sang for the security at Frankfurt Airport. And they all listened to me.

• 23:03Speaker 01

  And when I finished, they all applauded as they were checking all the passengers through simultaneously. It was the strangest thing I have ever experienced.

• 23:12Rich Roll?

  It was crazy. It was crazy. Like in the United States, you're used to like the security people being really gruff and kind of short with you. And, and, and, and, and this guy was so effusive and like, and like just solicitous. Like, he's like, no, you gotta play. And he's like, it's cool to sit down. And there are all these, it's a huge security thing. Like all the people are putting their stuff through the, you know, the conveyor belts and the whole deal. And right in the middle of that whole thing, like Julie just sits down and plays like a song and she's singing. And all the guards are watching her and there's police there. And I pull out my phone. I'm like, I gotta like Snapchat this or make a video of this. Like this is unbelievable.

• 23:49Speaker 01

  It was epic.

• 23:50Rich Roll?

  And as soon as I started to film it, the policewoman was like, no, no filming. Like you can sit down and play sitar, but I can't make a video out of it.

• 23:58Speaker 01

  No Snapchat.

• 23:59Rich Roll?

  She wouldn't let me take a video of it because I was like, no one's going to believe this. Uh, and then when you were done, like everybody clapped, all the police people clapped and the other, you know, passengers who were going through clapped. And I was like, what just happened? That was crazy.

• 24:13Speaker 01

  Definitely the last place on earth that I thought that that would ever happen. But it was just this, this lovely guy who obviously is a music lover. I asked him, I said, are you a musician? And he said, no, but he, he probably needs to become a musician because he definitely feels the beauty of music. So I hope he does.

• 24:29Rich Roll?

  Yeah. So that was a cool little experience, right?

• 24:33Speaker 01

  That's funny.

• 24:34Rich Roll?

  So we get to Berlin really late at night, the other night, and stayed in a cool little hotel that had a vegan restaurant downstairs. And the following day, we spent the entire day making a video for Der Spiegel and Akim Akalis, which is, which is a sort of fitness website in Germany, in Berlin, with this guy called Micah Klotzbeer, who is sort of a, he's become kind of an internet celebrity. He lives, he was a former like, he was a professional soccer player when he was young, blew out his knees, gained a ton of weight, became just like a kind of a typical big fat guy. And he went on this sort of weight loss journey that he shared online. And it became like a news story. A bunch of people got involved with, you know, his experience.

• 25:19Rich Roll?

  It was kind of like his own personal Biggest Loser thing where he was sharing how he was losing his weight. And I think he lost like a hundred pounds or something like that.

• 25:26Speaker 01

  Hundred and twenty kilos.

• 25:27Rich Roll?

  Did he lose a, he lost a hundred and twenty kilos? I don't know how many pounds that is, but that's a lot, that's way more than a hundred and twenty pounds.

• 25:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 25:35Rich Roll?

  Right? So he was massive and he's still got a little ways to go, but he'd lost a ton of weight and he's kind of just a really fun, excitable guy. So we spent the whole day making a couple of videos with him. And we were at the old, the old Berlin airport that's now closed down, that was sort of operable during World War II, where the US Army would drop supplies in. Like now it's turned into this massive park with this huge loop where people go to, go running and things like that. It's pretty historic and very cool, even though it was raining and freezing out.

• 26:05Speaker 01

  It was freezing.

• 26:06Rich Roll?

  And then we went to the Olympic Swimming Nautatorium that where they host the European Championships. This incredibly beautiful, state of the art, world-class swimming facility. You know, like basically where you could have the Olympics there, like it's that caliber of a facility. And we did some fun stuff there. He doesn't want to, Mike doesn't want us to tell, tell anybody.

• 26:28Speaker 01

  You'll have to wait for the videos, but it was a fun day.

• 26:30Rich Roll?

  Yeah, it was cool. And it was cool for me to like be in a, I haven't been in a, in a, like a nautatorium of that kind of like of that echelon in such a long time. So it was fun to go to a place like that and swim. And, and the thing about Berlin, that's super cool, that might be counterintuitive for you. Who, you know, for those of you who are listening is that it's an amazing place for, there's a lot of awareness and excitement about the plant-based movement, the vegan movement, tons of vegan restaurants. They even have a chain of vegan grocery stores there called Vegans.

• 27:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:03Rich Roll?

  That ends with a Z. And they're like supermarkets. I mean, they're not huge like the size of Safeway or something like that, but they're still a good sized, kind of like grocery store where every single item in the store is plant-based.

• 27:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's cool.

• 27:19Rich Roll?

  And they have like a deli counter and you can get smoothies and sandwiches and all kinds of like lunch foods and things like that. And buy all your stuff for at home in the kitchen.

• 27:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, we could have stayed, we could have stayed there, just would have been fine.

• 27:31Rich Roll?

  This is amazing. Like this would be so cool to have in the United States. And like here it is in Berlin.

• 27:36Speaker 01

  It's true. And then at our hotel, they had, every meal, they had a whole vegan spread, just everything vegan. And I had croissant at this hotel and it tasted amazing. So amazing that I had to ask, is that vegan? And it is vegan. The chef would not give me the recipe, even though I, I probably could not make it anyway, because croissant is a whole, it's a whole thing into itself. But it was exciting and inspiring to know that it can't, that that type of bread and that kind of level of taste in a, in a bread and a pastry can be executed.

• 28:15Speaker 01

  So I'm excited about discovering more about that. But apparently this chef had been raised vegan since he was a boy.

• 28:23Rich Roll?

  Yeah, it's cool. Berlin is a super cool city. It's full of like, kind of art and vitality and youthful energy and creativity. And I feel like that kind of like, you know, that community of young people is what kind of, you know, is inspiring and kind of pushing forward this movement there. And it's pretty, it's pretty cool to see it like thriving there.

• 28:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, it is. It's exciting. It's, it seems like a very open city and a city of possibility and where just a lot of new things are happening and a lot of new movements. And it was funny because then later in the day, we actually went and worked on a cooking, some cooking demos. And it was mainly how to translate, I don't want to give too much away because you'll see it in the video. Basically, I had to address, you know, typical German meals and, you know, how I would, how I would address that.

• 29:12Rich Roll?

  Like, what would your, like, if you like eating this, like, what is your suggestion?

• 29:16Speaker 01

  So luckily, you know, of course, we refuse to take a bite of anything that they, that they put on the table. But it was, it was fun. It was interesting.

• 29:25Rich Roll?

  Yeah. So that was great. And then it was exhausting though, man. We were just

• 29:30Speaker 01

  That was a long day.

• 29:31Rich Roll?

  On point for like, many days. And then just came to Paris to kind of decompress for a couple of days and have a little birthday experience. So Julie, for my birthday, surprised me and took me to this incredible restaurant last night. I mean, that has to be the most extravagant, like incredibly beautiful gourmet, plant-based dinner of all time last night.

• 29:54Speaker 01

  That I've ever been in my entire life.

• 29:56Rich Roll?

  I don't think anything else in the world exists like it. Like, it's, it was the finest plant-based meal, probably, perhaps on the entire planet.

• 30:04Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 30:05Rich Roll?

  At a place called La Peche, which is a very fancy restaurant where the chef, the master chef presides. His name's Alan Passat.

• 30:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, Alan Passat. He came out. He was extremely sweet, very, very affectionate, very connected to his clientele, a lot of touching and Charming and it was sweet. It was sweet to see him. So that was

• 30:28Rich Roll?

  And it was like a tasting menu where they just bring out little dish after little dish. And we counted how many were there were like 15 or 16.

• 30:35Speaker 01

  I lost count. I was thinking there can't be more than 12 and then we were already at like 18 or something.

• 30:40Rich Roll?

  It was that many? It got up?

• 30:42Speaker 01

  At the end, I think we ended, I think it was 18, 18 dishes, including the, including the juice and including the tasting, the like palate cleansing things.

• 30:51Rich Roll?

  Right. So it was, it was quintessentially French in that regard. We got there at like 7:45 and we didn't leave until like 11:45.

• 30:59Speaker 01

  That's right. And Happy Traveler did very well, even though this is not his style, he actually just stayed there patient till the end.

• 31:07Rich Roll?

  Yeah, it was definitely beyond extravagant. You know, that was a once in a lifetime.

• 31:11Speaker 01

  We'll never, we'll probably never do that again.

• 31:14Rich Roll?

  Thing like, that's not like an everyday.

• 31:16Speaker 01

  Well, but also it's like, it's world famous and you know, this is, we're in this world and we're sharing in this world and you know, this is a chef of somebody who is extremely inspirational to me and you know, it was appropriate. We arrived on your birthday, you know, what were the odds we were going to be in Paris on your birthday? And to have that opportunity, it actually was recommended by a podcast, no, not a podcast, man, a close friend of ours who you met from the vegan movement though, Romane. And he lives actually in Paris and unfortunately he's in Spain this weekend, so we didn't get to see him. But he suggested it and you know, it, I thought it was, it was perfect. So

• 31:58Speaker 01

  the meals were incredible. Rich and I Instagram, we took a bunch of photos. I'm going to Instagram it, Instagram it extensively. And I'm already inspired because I can see already some, some technique and some inspiration that I can adapt from his process and combine it with mine. And so I'm excited about the new recipes that are going to emerge as a result of this opportunity to exchange energy and eat his amazing food. And can I just say the tastes were absolutely incredible. They burst in your mouth, all the.

• 32:35Speaker 01

  The variation of the different kinds of tastes and the textures. It was truly extraordinary, truly a gifted artist. And if you ever have the chance to check it out, or you have a very special occasion, we will definitely recommend to

• 32:55Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I mean, it it takes Farm to Table to a new level because all the food that you eat is from one of two gardens that are like an hour or two away from the restaurant. So they source all of their produce from these two plots of land that they own and control, I suppose, which is amazing in its own right. But then he he makes these unique combinations that you wouldn't ever think of that create these amazing tastes. Like there was a juice that you drank it and it just tasted like a beautiful piece of the earth. And I'm like, I couldn't even identify what was in it. It was you who was able to figure it out. It was apple and radish.

• 33:31Speaker 01

  Radish. And also turnip.

• 33:33Rich Roll?

  Apple, radish, turnip. And that would sound weird and that's not something you would ever would ever occur to you to make. And it was absolutely amazing, you know? So that would be just an example.

• 33:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, and powerful. And also, I was well aware, you know, they were bringing the courses and they were explaining the food to you and sharing, you know, sharing exactly the ingredients. They took a long time with that. But one of the middle courses, which was just a vegetable consomme. But the thing that was beautiful about it, it was all 22 members of vegetables from the garden. Like, so they took the entire community, if you think of it on a frequency level or an energy level. So they took the entire community of the garden because the garden is really a whole. Because each plant and each vegetable in the garden affects the whole, just like, you know, us as human beings.

• 34:25Speaker 01

  And we're always talking being, you know, part of the macrocosm and we're the microcosm. So to serve us a consomme made from 22 vegetables was incredible. I think that's my ride.

• 34:36Rich Roll?

  Is that, where are you going?

• 34:38Speaker 01

  No, I'm just kidding. I'll answer the phone right now.

• 34:39Rich Roll?

  Leaving? All right, go answer it quick. Of course, like the phone never rings and then we do a podcast and the phone rings.

• 34:46Speaker 01

  Allo, oui?

• 34:47Rich Roll?

  Listen to that accent.

• 34:52Rich Roll?

  I usually unplug the phone before I do these things and then sometimes people think I'm crazy, but I'm telling you the frequency with that the phone rings when you're in a hotel room when you do this, even though like who uses like landlines and whatever, anyway.

• 35:06Speaker 01

  It's okay, you won't come.

• 35:06Rich Roll?

  Okay.

• 35:07Speaker 01

  Are we still recording?

• 35:08Rich Roll?

  Sorry about that. Yeah.

• 35:10Speaker 01

  You just kept that on?

• 35:11Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 35:11Speaker 01

  Okay. Hi, everyone.

• 35:13Rich Roll?

  That was awesome podcasting.

• 35:14Speaker 01

  It was so good. Thanks for being.

• 35:16Rich Roll?

  You're riveted by that?

• 35:16Speaker 01

  Thanks for being patient.

• 35:18Rich Roll?

  So anyway, thank you for taking me to that restaurant last night. That was delightful.

• 35:22Speaker 01

  Well, honey, happy birthday.

• 35:24Rich Roll?

  And I think that that it that it kind of dovetails nicely into a couple of things that I want to talk about.

• 35:31Speaker 01

  Wait, can I just say one thing? Okay, so at the end, I let them know it was Rich's birthday, so I asked for something special and they they arranged these paper thin slices of an apple on a plate in the most beautiful design that I've ever seen with the most beautiful flowers on top of it. And it was very, very nice, but I have to say that your apple pie from the Plant Power Way just totally ruled over that dessert.

• 36:02Rich Roll?

  It was their version of.

• 36:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was not happening.

• 36:05Rich Roll?

  They were trying to copy you.

• 36:06Speaker 01

  Well, no, I don't know, but it was missing in, it was definitely lacking in definitely the nut cheeses in the in the crust and in the opportunity with nuts to to give it more of a foundation or more of a variance. So I don't think that they have really gone there yet. So it was interesting. I'm I will actually look forward to sending him a copy of my book. And who knows, maybe I'll inspire him too.

• 36:36Rich Roll?

  You never know.

• 36:37Speaker 01

  Never know.

• 36:37Rich Roll?

  You never know.

• 36:38Speaker 01

  The student inspires the teacher and the teacher inspires the student. So you never know.

• 36:43Rich Roll?

  That's always the way it works. All right. So we're going to get into some questions in a second, but before we do that, we got another little interesting tidbit from our friends at Harry's.

• 36:53Speaker 01

  Harry's, I love Harry's.

• 36:54Rich Roll?

  I love Harry's too. You know why? Because shaving is freaking expensive.

• 36:59Speaker 01

  Oh, that's fine.

• 37:00Rich Roll?

  And you go to the store and the blades cost an absolute fortune. And then you never know which blades work with which handle and you bring home the wrong ones. And then you gotta go back to the CVS and it's all locked down in a Lucite case. And you gotta find the kid with hair in his face who, who has those things in his earlobes, you know, and he doesn't really want to help you and he's staring at his feet, but he shuffles over and opens it anyway. And then you ask him to those, is the Mach 3, does that go with the force? And is, should I get five blades or three blades? And he's still looking at his feet and he's not helpful. So you then spend like 50 bucks on these blades that don't work. The whole thing is ridiculous.

• 37:38Speaker 01

  So they cost a lot.

• 37:39Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 37:39Speaker 01

  There's a lot of plastic.

• 37:40Rich Roll?

  It's inconvenient.

• 37:41Speaker 01

  There's a lot of waste.

• 37:41Rich Roll?

  You gotta drive in your car and you waste your time.

• 37:44Speaker 01

  Not sustainable.

• 37:45Rich Roll?

  More importantly, not sustainable. Well, a couple of guys who got together to solve this problem. No, they're not named Harry.

• 37:54Speaker 01

  Well, that's disappointing.

• 37:54Rich Roll?

  Ironically, you'd think, I'd like to know the story.

• 37:56Speaker 01

  I'm gonna guess.

• 37:57Rich Roll?

  Behind why they decided to call it Harry's.

• 37:58Speaker 01

  We'll have to find that out.

• 37:59Rich Roll?

  Uh, but there are a couple, a couple of guys who identified this same frustration and the same problem that I was having, right? And they decided to do something about it.

• 38:08Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 38:09Rich Roll?

  Because they're doers.

• 38:10Speaker 01

  They're doers. They take action.

• 38:11Rich Roll?

  They take action.

• 38:13Speaker 01

  But I love this product because it's such great design. It's, it has a classic feel to it.

• 38:18Rich Roll?

  It does, it has that heavy like metal handle that I like.

• 38:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, it feels, uh, you know, uh, stately, uh, historical, established.

• 38:26Rich Roll?

  Bespoke.

• 38:27Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 38:28Rich Roll?

  Yes, bespoke. Uh, Harry's delivers a superior shave. I can personally attest to that. How do they do that? Well, the first thing is they bought a blade factory in Germany. We were just in Germany. We should have gone to the Harry's Blade Factory.

• 38:40Speaker 01

  That would have been a great video.

• 38:42Rich Roll?

  That would have been awesome.

• 38:43Speaker 01

  Harry's, we're coming back next September.

• 38:45Rich Roll?

  When we come to Germany, we'll do that.

• 38:46Speaker 01

  Running a marathon and we here.

• 38:48Rich Roll?

  Right, well, this blade factory has been crafting some of the world's highest quality blades for nearly a century, so it's a good match. And by having this factory, they're able to cut out the metal man, which means they can offer an amazing shave at a fraction of the price of the drugstore brands. Their starter kit's just 15 bucks, it includes a razor, three blades, and your choice of Harry's Shave Cream or Foam Shaving Gel for just 15 bucks. That's crazy. And as an added bonus, you can get $5 off your first purchase with my code ROLL, R-O-L-L. After using my code, you can get an entire month's worth of shaving for just 10 bucks, and shipping is always free, which is huge, right? Shipping's always the thing that makes it a pain.

• 39:31Rich Roll?

  Like, you think you're buying something for a certain price, and then you look at the shipping, and you're like, wow. Well, shipping is free with Harry's. So go to harrys.com now, and Harry's will give you $5 off if you type in my code ROLL with your first purchase. That's H-A-R-R-Y-S.com and enter coupon code ROLL at checkout for $5 off the starter set, and start shaving smarter today.

• 39:55Speaker 01

  I think I'm gonna start shaving.

• 39:57Rich Roll?

  You should. Well, the whole ad's all about how it's like for men, but like, why shouldn't it be for women, too?

• 40:02Speaker 01

  Well, it's not for me, because I wax, but...

• 40:04Rich Roll?

  You wax, but if you shaved your legs...

• 40:06Speaker 01

  If I shaved, I would use Harry's.

• 40:07Rich Roll?

  And I shaved my legs, so I go through probably more than my fair share of Harry's blades compared to the average guy.

• 40:12Speaker 01

  Maybe some of you don't know that, but he's that special guy that he actually shaves his legs.

• 40:16Rich Roll?

  And I'm secure enough to talk about it.

• 40:18Speaker 01

  That's amazing.

• 40:19Rich Roll?

  How about that?

• 40:20Speaker 01

  It's incredible.

• 40:27Rich Roll?

  What are we talking about today?

• 40:28Speaker 01

  I'm not quite sure. Don't we have some, we have some questions, but...

• 40:32Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I mean, I think the questions are, what we're gonna do today is kind of do a hybrid amalgam of some questions that kind of hit on similar or overlapping themes, right? And one of the themes is, there's two things I really want to talk about today, but the first one is something that we were talking about earlier, which is, this kind of, when you're at a place and you're ready to kind of make a change, there's a tendency, at least in our culture... To get overly fixated on the weight loss aspect of the change, to be kind of overly obsessed with what the scale says and, and to kind of quote unquote be on this, you know, diet that is inherently, you know, sort of temporary by its very definition.

• 41:16Rich Roll?

  And so what we wanted to talk about is maybe a little bit of a different approach to lifestyle change that is a little bit more broad and comprehensive in not only its, its approach, but also in its benefits.

• 41:33Speaker 01

  Well, and I think this is connected to, you know, the emotional aspects of eating food and overeating food and having, you know, using food as a, you know, as a security blanket or as something to make you feel better or as a drug or as something to stuff your emotions. And I think what's happening is when you go through a period of transformation where you have addressed the food, because it is the first thing that you have to start considering, you know, what are you putting in your mouth and what's going on in your microbiome and, you know, what are you eating, you know, are you overeating? Are you eating when you're emotional, you know, looking, you know, thinking, looking at all those

• 42:15Speaker 01

  aspects? I just feel like there is a large emotional ocean of exploration that needs to be dived into and really looked at and really discovered because it's what was propelling you to eat, to overeat in the first place or use in the, in the first place. And so we had a little, sort of a little baby window into this when we were shooting with, with Mica and, you know, he's lost a tremendous amount of weight and we had a kind of a moment together and I was talking to him, he was had these physical challenges planned for you, you know, it was all about the physical challenge. And I, I sort of jokingly, but,

• 42:59Speaker 01

  but authentically suggested to him that possibly the greatest challenge would be to actually stop and look inside for a moment and maybe sit with me and be present and connect. And in the moment that I said that, I could see the emotion just well up in his eyes. And so, you know, I wanted to go there. The film crew didn't want to go there.

• 43:25Rich Roll?

  Well, that doesn't make for a good like five minute quick video.

• 43:28Speaker 01

  No, it doesn't. So, but what I'm saying is I'm just, you know, I know we've, we've established a friendship with him and we have, you know, things coming up in the future, but it just sort of brought this to the surface about how, you know, this is a lot of what we're dealing with when people are overeating or when they have a lot of weight. It's like, what do they do when the weight comes off and their heart is sitting there bare and open and vulnerable? And that's a very scary place to be. And there needs to be some tools and guidance and nurturing so that we can lovingly support ourselves and each other to clear that emotional trauma and heal from it and become truly whole.

• 44:10Rich Roll?

  Yeah. I mean, I think that that's the difference between like going on a diet and saying, I'm going to, you know, take a new approach to how I'm living my life. Like, I'm going to shift my priorities and my perspective. And that gets the, the external manifestation of that are the habits that you then adopt or change, like what you're choosing to eat or how you're deciding to move your body. But that's a function of, of an internal shift, right? So the focus needs to be inside. It has to be inward. You have to connect with yourself and develop this deeper relationship with yourself that will then kind of tap into, you know, what it is that's important to you, like what it is that you want to express, like how do you want to live your life? You know, it's

• 44:55Rich Roll?

  very different from a diet, right? And when you can kind of get right with that, then that will be, you know, the determine, that will be determinative of how you're going to make decisions going forward. But that has to be locked down and rock solid, right? Like, that's the foundation that you're building that will then drive every other behavior pattern outside of that.

• 45:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, but before you can have it locked down and solid, there is a very vulnerable, raw, scary process that one has to go through. And it requires looking at the shadow side. It requires looking at things that you have stuffed under the bed, that you have furthestly, you know, put in the furthest corner of your mind. That you have suppressed your entire life because you don't want, you know, you just don't want to look at it. It's not pretty, you know, in, you know, it could be a whole range of experiences, but as human beings, you know, this is how life is designed and this is, you know, these are the things that we go through. And so you can, you can tell, and I'm, you know, I'm, I'm never one to quote science, but I'm, I know there are

• 46:01Speaker 01

  scientific studies and that many people know that, you know, if someone has, you know, a terrible pain, emotional trauma, or a split, or a fragmentation from something that happened to them as a child or in their life, and they have not cleared it or healed it, they could lose the weight and, you know, fit into the dress size that they want and look really great on the outside, but they will still be suffering on the inside. So the outside fix does not heal the inside.

• 46:32Rich Roll?

  No, and actually, Micah said something to that effect. It was very revealing at one point, not when we were filming, but just in passing, he said, you know, I've lost all this weight, but I still think of myself as in, and take, make decisions based on, you know, what it was like when I was super fat, right? So he still sees himself in that way, and there's a lot of wounds there. And I also think getting to that place is a function of whatever's going on inside of you, right? Like, you know, whether it's a self-esteem thing, or, you know, whatever your emotional pain body is that allows that to, you know, over time, kind of occur, like this external manifestation of this overweight, unhealthy body. Like, what is, what's really going on inside that would allow that to

• 47:16Rich Roll?

  happen to you? And, and you can say, well, you know, we use food as to numb our emotions, and that's certainly true, but I think it's much deeper than that. It goes a lot deeper than that. Certainly, foods can be drugs, especially the processed foods that we're eating, and they become very addictive, right? But what is the emotional, you know, pain? Like, what is it that's, that's, that's creating all of this? How can we connect with that and heal that? Because if you can do that, then you're on to something-

• 47:44Speaker 01

  Well, and this is why-

• 47:45Rich Roll?

  Truly transformational.

• 47:46Speaker 01

  This is why I always, you know, advocate meditation and advocate, you know, really, you know, stepping into a meditation practice, specifically the program that I designed that is on, you know, on our website. And the reason is because you- I heard a lot being said, you know, well, I'm afraid, I'm afraid to drink the green juices. That's, that's the emotional body saying, don't clear too much because I'm afraid I'll be revealed. I'm afraid.

• 48:17Rich Roll?

  Right. I'll have to look at that, or I'll have to emotionally connect with that thing that I'm trying so hard to not look at.

• 48:22Speaker 01

  Exactly. And so if you embark upon a plant-based diet and then you combine that with a meditation practice, you will kind of be dealing with the healing from more of a holistic approach. And this is where I differ from physical exercise. So I don't think it's the same as, as running until you, you know, running yourself into the ground. I don't think this is the same aspect of healing that we're speaking to. Surely that can be transformative and it can be an amazing experience. I know there are many people that, you know, love to run and they, they say they're addicted to running or they love

• 49:03Speaker 01

  that feeling. But I don't think running is a substitute for meditation.

• 49:10Rich Roll?

  Yeah, there's an active meditation aspect to running, but it's the, it doesn't, it doesn't replace what like actually doing a true meditation.

• 49:20Speaker 01

  I'm talking about sitting meditation.

• 49:22Rich Roll?

  Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean. That's what I'm saying. Like the active meditation aspect of running has its place and it has its benefits, but it's a different animal altogether from the actual sitting practice of a more traditional, you know, focused meditation practice. And I also think that, that in the same way that, you know, certain people like they, you adopt a plant-based diet and then it just becomes all about kale. We've talked about this before. So we're always talking about going beyond the kale. Like you gotta like, you, you clean up your diet and you like, you know, raise the, the vitality bar on your life so that you can then express that in your life, not stay, stay stuck in this obsession with the food part of it. Like I love food and of course we love food

• 50:04Rich Roll?

  and we express ourselves through food. We have a cookbook, of course, but life is more than that as well. And I think that can be applied to, to sport, to sport, to sport. I make sport today. Today I make, today I go out and make some sport. It can be applied to sports and running as well, right? Like you can get, you can, you can be running, but you can be very hard with yourself. Like you're out like, oh, I gotta run, you know, like you're almost torturing yourself. It can be its own, it can be its own repression machine. It can be liberating as well. It's the perspective that you bring to it. It's the relationship that you have with it. But if you're stuck in running and like you get super compulsive about it and you know,

• 50:46Rich Roll?

  is that any better than any other addictive behavior pattern? Well, it's better than eating cheeseburgers all day, but it's certainly, I don't think it's the, I don't think it's the solution that you're looking for that's going to give you the peace that, that perhaps is behind, you know, the hardness and what you're truly seeking.

• 51:03Speaker 01

  Well, I mean, I think it's different if you're running from yourself or you're running from your demons or you're running for the love of it. You're running for the pure joy of it.

• 51:11Rich Roll?

  So if you're running because you're afraid if you stop, you're going to have to face yourself in the mirror and see something you don't like or something that you're going to have to reckon with, like some, something from, you know, some pain or, or some aspect of, of your past or your development that, that needs to be healed. If you're running to avoid that or doing whatever it is that you're watching TV or playing video games or whatever, whatever it is, then yeah, that, that's an unhealthy relationship, right?

• 51:39Speaker 01

  And there's always, you know, there's always opportunity in self-inquiry, in self-discovery, in sitting in meditation. So it's not like you get to a point and, you know, and then there's nothing else to inquire about, you know? There's a lot to inquire about as human beings. And I think that everyone should be comforted in the fact that if you've lived a human life, you have some skeletons in your closet, if you're really being honest. So there, there is no human experience or human life that did not have any darkness in it. So rather than think that you have to suppress it or have to hide from it. You should feel empowered in looking at that, realizing that in order to be a

• 52:24Speaker 01

  fully integrated being, you have to have embraced both the light and the dark. It is what has made you who you are today. So you can't, you can't just cut off a part of your existence and pretend that it never existed, or that it didn't happen. That being said, it doesn't mean you have to write a book about it, or, you know, talk about it on the air like we do, or, you know, you can process that in a very personal way in different ways. It's, it's between you and you, you know, it's between you and whatever that force is you call God. But this is what I'm talking about, the importance of meditation and the importance of really, you know, finding a practice. There are thousands of techniques, you know, available, and I also have this very powerful

• 53:09Speaker 01

  program that I designed that, you know, was definitely transformative for me, and that's why I share it. Rich likes headspace, so there's, you know, many different techniques, but I, I feel the need to call the attention back to the, to meditation and really, what are we doing in a human life? Because we cannot uncover and solve and resolve all of our energy by simply running, or by simply eating a plant-based diet.

• 53:41Rich Roll?

  Yeah, that's right. I'm looking at this article right now, because this conversation has provoked this in me. So, this, this article that was in the New York Times last Sunday, Jeff Cordenier, who wrote the article about us, the Vegans Go Glam New York Times article, that featured our family, he wrote a piece that appeared in the last Sunday's New York Times Tea Magazine. It was called Jeong Kwan, The Philosopher Chef, and it's about, it's a beautiful, amazing article about this journey that he took to South Korea to kind of immerse himself in what's called Korean temple cuisine, and he went to this monastery and spent time

• 54:21Rich Roll?

  with this Buddhist nun, Buddhist monk, who is revered all over the world for her incredible culinary talent. She makes plant-based meals that are insane. And Jeff went with the chef of La Bernardette, which is perhaps the most famous restaurant in New York City. The chef there is obsessed with this nun, this chef nun, Jung Kwan. And he visits her, I guess, like every year to learn from her. So Jeff goes and spends a week there with her and eats her food. And he just said it was like transcendent, this amazing experience. But what really I thought was amazing was something that he talked about that had to do with cravings, like, you know, this idea that in America

• 55:03Rich Roll?

  or in the Western world, you know, you can find yourself aching for a slice of pizza, right? Like you have that craving. And Korean temple cuisine is rooted in like a principle that is completely opposite to that. The idea that you're not supposed to crave the food. That temple cuisine is engineered to provoke a different reaction, one that goes back to the Buddhist concept of non-attachment, that you relish it as you eat it, but you should have no urge to stuff your face with another heap of it when you're done. Like when it's done, it's gone and that was it. In the same way that they make those sand mandalas or what have you, like that creates something beautiful. And the idea is impermanence, right? That it goes away, but it's the relationship with the thing, right?

• 55:48Rich Roll?

  This relationship of non-attachment to enjoy it while you're doing it, but to not get into that fixation or obsessiveness or craving kind of habit that is like certainly my second nature with so many things.

• 56:00Speaker 01

  It's certainly, you know, it's certainly greedy. It's a form of greed and it's a form of gluttony.

• 56:06Rich Roll?

  Well, it's covetous.

• 56:07Speaker 01

  Right, when you have that kind of craving. And, you know, the same way that I talk about preparing food and in a spiritual manner is it is like art, it's like you prepare it and then it's destroyed. It's completely gone. It no longer exists.

• 56:22Rich Roll?

  You know what's funny is I heard, sorry, I don't want to interrupt, but I have to tell this one quick thing, sorry. I can't remember where it was. It was, I think it was a podcast interview. I don't even remember what it was, but it was like, if you think about like using that analogy of like the sand mandala and then, and then applying that to food, like a great chef makes something that's so beautiful that you're like, you don't even want to eat it because it's so amazing, but that's part of the bargain, right? Like they're doing that, knowing that not only are you going to destroy it, but you're going to literally turn it into shit. Literally will be, your body will turn that beautiful thing into, into crap.

• 57:01Speaker 01

  Well, yes, I guess that is the ultimate. But also, your body will actually have a relationship with that. So kind of a higher way to look at it is that your body is having like a symbiotic relationship with that element as it integrates it and takes what it needs and discards the rest.

• 57:21Rich Roll?

  Well, it literally goes into your body, like the painting you observe or a song you hear, but this literally goes inside of you.

• 57:29Speaker 01

  Right, yes, uh huh, that's true. I mean, and but sound waves go inside of you. I think we just are not really aware of that. So there's probably more on the frontier of exploring energy and thoughts are things and images are things. So I think I always say that, you know, in a few years, they're going to say, and they used to watch violent television and they didn't know any better, you know? So thoughts and, and, and music and images also go into your body. But yes, this food actually enters your mouth and goes through your digestive tract and becomes, you know, interacts with your microbiome and, you know, becomes you, probably more you than the human part of you. So the article that Jeff wrote was just incredibly beautiful. The photographs are extraordinary.

• 58:14Speaker 01

  And yeah, it gives, I mean, for me, it's inspiring to look at it as, you know, really sort of elevating the perspective of serving cuisine as spiritual practice. So from, he talked about from the person that's eating it's perspective, but also from the perspective of that she's a Buddhist monk and she's preparing it. She is preparing this in complete service to God. That is how she is preparing this and it's connected.

• 58:41Rich Roll?

  It's her spiritual practice.

• 58:41Speaker 01

  It's her spiritual practice.

• 58:42Rich Roll?

  She spends all day like working on it.

• 58:44Speaker 01

  I'm sure. And it's connected to the elements of the earth. I'm, I'm certain it has, you know, a whole flow to it and a whole chi to it and a whole way that it's expressed. So it's quite gorgeous. I hope I get to go there someday. But, um, you know, I had this experience, this one experience in, in serving similarly to the way this, this nun is serving. And it was at a time in my life where, you know, we thought we were losing our house and I had, you know, no more. A vision that I was holding for anything and my friend Saul Ray invited me to come up to Santa Barbara and cook for his Thai yoga retreat.

• 59:25Speaker 01

  And I was, probably the first time in my life, I was completely empty. I was empty of any, any inclination, any intention and any vision for my life or for what I was doing with my family. And the only thing that I could do was be completely present in the moment and serve food and prepare and serve food. And I did that with every ounce of my being over that four day retreat. And I had literally people crying in the kitchen after eating, you know, a blueberry cashew cheesecake that I made. And Saul was teasing me, you know, saying like, Srimati, what are you doing? Like, they don't want to go to class, they want to stay with you in the kitchen.

• 1:00:08Speaker 01

  And again, it was this really visceral experience of really being fully in service, like 1,000% in service with nothing else inside of me. And when you're that empty, the greater energy can channel through you and create something truly miraculous. So I have no doubt that when people go and spend time with this monk, that they are transformed and that there is a very, very powerful spiritual transmission that comes through that food. And I bet they are never the same.

• 1:00:45Rich Roll?

  Yeah, and I think in addition to that, it's, it's, you know, kind of a close, you know, kin or cousin to the service aspect of it, is doing it for the love of it and just being in it for no, like, not for any external purpose, other than making the most beautiful thing that you can and pouring all of yourself into it with everything that you have, right? So she's doing her thing in this remote, you know, section of South Korea. She's, she didn't write a cookbook, she doesn't have a restaurant, like, she doesn't have a publicist, like, nobody knows what's going on, right? She's just doing this in, basically in isolation. And it says in the article, like, sometimes she's just cooking for two other nuns or a couple other people that are in the monastery.

• 1:01:30Rich Roll?

  Now, it's a cultural thing in South Korea, there are these other monasteries and there's this tradition of cuisine in these places, so it's a thing, right? People go to these monasteries to enjoy this food. But it's not really, from what I understand... It's not like open to the public or anything like that. It's like you have to kind of know, right? What's going on with her? And so she's not doing it to attract attention to herself, but just by being so devoted in this practice, she becomes like this magnet and the world comes to her, right? So the chef of La Bernadette gets on a plane from New York City and travels to see her to like, sit at her feet and learn, right? Like, that's an amazing, that's like a truly powerful thing.

• 1:02:12Speaker 01

  Well, she's, she's a spiritual master of sorts and she needs nothing from him. She doesn't care. She has no need. She has no need for this press. She has no, she doesn't care. It's, it's just like, oh, the wind blew. So the guy's there, you know? And that's a really powerful place to be, to not have that attachment. But, you know, with her living this monastic life and having chosen this, this way of walking in the world, of being in the world, it's really beautiful, very inspiring and, and a lovely, beautiful way to connect to divinity.

• 1:02:47Rich Roll?

  Yeah. I told Jeff, I was like, I gotta get her on the podcast. He gave me some contact information. Like, I was kind of half joking. You know, I was like, oh, she should be great. And he actually gave me, and he's like, she's probably getting slammed with interview requests right now. Like, he was, he took me seriously.

• 1:03:02Speaker 01

  Do you think she would come on?

• 1:03:03Rich Roll?

  Like, fly to South Korea. Well, I think that guy from La Bernadette has brought her out to New York for fundraisers for the monastery or something like that. And he might be doing that again. But, you know, because of this article, now suddenly, everybody, you know, she's on everybody's radar. It's a different thing now. But of course, if a, if an opportunity arose where I could see if I could make it happen, that would be a beautiful conversation, I would think.

• 1:03:26Speaker 01

  Maybe she'll cook for us.

• 1:03:27Rich Roll?

  Yeah. If she speaks English, I don't know.

• 1:03:28Speaker 01

  Doesn't even matter.

• 1:03:29Rich Roll?

  Yeah. I think she does. Anyway. All right. Well, all right. So just to bring it back, like, the, this question was really about transcending the, the kind of just surface level weight loss aspect of, of, of the wellness journey and, and refocusing on, on the emotional aspect of it, of, of like, healing the underlying emotions or pain that kind of maybe led to some unhealthy behavior. Behavior patterns and using that as, you know, the launching pad to reset your trajectory.

• 1:04:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, understanding, understanding that, you know, we are whole beings, you know, in many different parts of ourselves. So you have physical health, you have emotional health, you have spiritual health. So all of it is relevant and none of it can be excluded. It's like cutting off a part of your body and pretending it didn't exist. So I always say that, you know, the human being integrated in body, mind and spirit is the ultimate, ultimate self-sustainable ecosystem. That is the new green. That is to be really green, is to be fully contained and fully integrated with all of your bodies, not just physical,

• 1:04:41Speaker 01

  not just spiritual, not just emotional, but all together as one. So it can't, it's not like, you know, oh, you know, I'll get to meditation someday, or I'm not really into meditation, you know, it's, it's just as important as the other things.

• 1:04:55Rich Roll?

  Or I'll get to meditation once I master, like I get, I lose, when I lose 20 pounds, then I'll turn to the meditation part of it.

• 1:05:02Speaker 01

  And, you know, a little bit of, you know, mild frustration that I keep hearing again and again in the modern world is, you know, oh, well, the people aren't, you know, they're just not ready for that yet. But that's just, you know, people are the same. We're all human beings. We're spiritual beings having a human experience. We were designed ready for it. We're just, we have our head in the wrong place. And so it's not really extraordinary to have a spiritual experience. It's really quite ordinary. It's quite logical. It's quite, you know, it's absolutely true. And each one of us is completely different, but I just, I don't feel like, you know, making it that it's all about the diet is, is intelligent.

• 1:05:48Rich Roll?

  So what should come first? How do we, how do we, so if somebody's listening to this and they're like, I'm on your page, but tell me where to begin?

• 1:05:56Speaker 01

  Well, what should, what should come first is, again, you're, what we're saying is, is to do these things simultaneously. So not to take care of one part of your health while excluding or ignoring another part. So I think it happens all together, you know? It talk, it comes with eating healthier foods, starting a meditation practice, starting to move your body, and starting to connect with some of those skeletons or dark moments or emotional traumas that possibly you haven't looked at for a while. And maybe you need to take those out and have a look at them. Maybe it's through journaling to begin with.

• 1:06:35Rich Roll?

  Or therapy.

• 1:06:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, therapy or communication. But above all, I mean, meditation every day, meditation, meditation, meditation. So find a practice that feels good to you or one that you can begin with. Again, my meditation practice is a 30-minute guided meditation. I really, really recommend it because it is a humming practice. Starts off with an active meditation, which actually helps to activate energy that's stagnant in your heart and actually will start to clear that immediately. And in the beginning stages of practicing this meditation, you may have a lot of tears. You may have emotion that comes out. You may cough.

• 1:07:19Speaker 01

  You may even smell an odor. But that's okay. Just keep humming. It doesn't matter. Don't attach to the story and allow this frequency to clear your emotional body so that you can start to connect with yourself. And the, the thing that stops one from meditation, the greatest obstacle to meditation, is emotional trauma. So that is even more than physical not being able to sit still, but emotional trauma is the greatest obstacle to experiencing meditation because it's that fear of not wanting to, to go through the emotion.

• 1:07:57Rich Roll?

  To look at it. Yeah, it's that emotional trauma that prevents you from wanting to entertain the prospect of meditating to begin with because it's so terrifying to think that that might make you confront that thing. In the recovery context, you know, part of the step work that you do in 12-step is doing a moral inventory. It's one of the steps, step four. And an aspect of that is to kind of, you have to go through, like, you have to write down all your resentments and it's a whole, it's kind of a process, right? And this is a, this is a task or an assignment where a lot of people in recovery, like, they just peter out, like, because they don't want to, they don't want to actually face it. So they'll hem and they'll haw and they won't actually do this work because you do have to confront these things.

• 1:08:40Rich Roll?

  And if you think about it, like, well, who are the people that you resent? You have to do a sexual inventory, this moral inventory, this inventory of your resentments and your fears. And it's like, well, I resent this, I resent that. And you figure out, like, well, I resent, like, everybody, you know, like, but it's the one, like, what a, what a sponsor said to me, my first sponsor said to me, is like, yeah, you, you have all these resentments, but what's the one that you're really afraid to write down and talk to me about? Like, what's the one that's so dark and that you're so ashamed of that you don't even, like, you can't even bring yourself to, like, that'll be the one that you're going to leave off this? You'll do all the ones that you don't really care about, but that one that, like, you're like, yeah, I'll talk about all these, but I won't talk about that? That's the one you need to look at.

• 1:09:22Rich Roll?

  Because that's the one that if you can work through it, is going to set you free. This dovetails nicely into the subsequent episode to this, the one that I'm going to put up on Sunday night, is with Gabor Maté. Maté. I can't, it's, it's Hungarian. He told me, you put the emphasis on the first syllable. Gabor Maté.

• 1:09:50Speaker 01

  Maté.

• 1:09:51Rich Roll?

  And he's a world-renowned expert in addiction. He has some very interesting and counterintuitive ideas about the origins of addiction and how to deal with it. But a lot of it, in a nutshell, kind of boils down to early childhood development issues, you know, stuff that happens to you very young that kind of set in motion behavior patterns that, that manifest into addictive patterns later in life. So we're going to get into that with him, but it's kind of similar to what we're talking about right now. Like, these, these pains that start as tiny little grains of sand and fester or fertilize over the years, turn into things- Things that become very dark and powerful and and really drive decisions that we make in unhealthy ways and and and and kind of

• 1:10:36Rich Roll?

  shadow our relationship with ourselves, with other people, with food, with behavior patterns, with television, with, you know, whatever it is, gambling, sex, what have you. So that's going to be a really interesting conversation, but it's similar. It's basically similar to what you're saying right now.

• 1:10:51Speaker 01

  It's powerful. It is.

• 1:10:54Rich Roll?

  Okay, cool. So one more thing that that I want to talk about in this episode.

• 1:10:59Speaker 01

  Do you have something you're gonna tell me? Something surprising?

• 1:11:02Rich Roll?

  No, the love you, the hi babe, thank you for my birthday. Something I'm gonna tell you.

• 1:11:07Speaker 01

  You're gonna tell me like some other demon or something.

• 1:11:09Rich Roll?

  Oh, really?

• 1:11:09Speaker 01

  You haven't spoken about.

• 1:11:10Rich Roll?

  Oh, no, no. Well, we're traveling, right? So we've been in all these cities on this like whirlwind situation. So we were in we were in Basel, Candor, Frankfurt.

• 1:11:21Speaker 01

  Berlin.

• 1:11:22Rich Roll?

  Freiburg, Berlin, Paris, and we're going to Boston next weekend to speak at the Veg Fest.

• 1:11:27Speaker 01

  In just two days.

• 1:11:28Rich Roll?

  I go home for a couple of days, like five days, and then I get on a plane again. I'm flying to Beirut. I'm gonna run the marathon there. Then I come back for like a week and then I'm gonna be in

• 1:11:37Speaker 01

  Miami.

• 1:11:38Rich Roll?

  Atlanta and Indiana and Miami. So there's like a ridiculous amount of travel. And so the the question always comes up, you know, how do you maintain a plant-based diet when you're on the road? And we have some tips and some tools that we can relate really quickly. I mean, on this trip, just to relate our experience, I don't think would be really that fair or informative because we were really taken care of, you know, we we had people that were hosting us and and and helping us to make the best decisions. But I think anybody who, like if you're a business traveler or you're on the road quite a bit, it's true, it can become challenging. Like, how do you maintain this way of eating when you're away from your own kitchen and your routines and your practices? And I think the short answer is that

• 1:12:21Rich Roll?

  you're not going to be able to do it perfectly, but there are some things that you can do to try to do your best when you're away from home.

• 1:12:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, one thing for me that's been key, and this is maybe a small thing, but it's important to me. I like tea. I like to drink tea. It's a sort of like a life, a luxury of mine that I enjoy. And the problem is, is that I like my tea with milk, but I don't drink milk, so I use nut milk. And when I'm traveling, especially in Europe, it's, you know, at a restaurant or just basically when you're out, it's impossible to find anything that's not, you know, dairy. So aside from traveling on the airplane, which is kind of impossible, um, uh, I love these uh, nut and soy creams that um,

• 1:13:11Speaker 01

  I found in Germany. They're extremely thick. They're, they're so thick. It's amazing what they have created.

• 1:13:17Rich Roll?

  What's it called?

• 1:13:17Speaker 01

  Um, they're different brands, but they're just in a box. They're like in a half box size. So I found like a pint sized nut milk, like I had a cashew one and I had a soy one. But I was able to just put it in my backpack and carry it with me. So we arrived here in Paris at the hotel. I asked him if he had, you know, a non-dairy milk and he didn't. So I opened my suitcase and came out with my nut milk and I was able to enjoy my tea. So now they're storing my nut milk downstairs in the kitchen. And I've been able to have that. So I mean, that seems like a little one, but it's a big one to me because it's something that I, you know, I enjoy and I, I, I would like to have. So that's been a great discovery.

• 1:13:58Rich Roll?

  Right. Well, I mean, I suppose in analog to that would be if you're traveling somewhere where you're not sure you're going to be able to buy almond milk or coconut milk or soy milk or whatever, uh, just buy a box of it. You know, they store it. Um, you know, it doesn't have to be refrigerated until it's opened, right? So it can store on the shelf. So you can buy those boxes and you can pack it in your luggage or just have one with you. So if you're going somewhere where maybe that's not going to be at the grocery store, at least you have that. And I think that that is applicable to all kinds of other things, right? If you're going to go on an airplane, like, don't, don't like wait until you get to the airport to decide what it is that you're going to eat, you know, for the next five hours or however long your flight is, like bring, you know, take the time to prepare a couple of things to bring on the plane with you. Like whether it's

• 1:14:42Rich Roll?

  You know, a little salad or some nuts or snacks, depending on how long your flight is, something that you like to eat so that you're not going to become starving and then make a bad choice.

• 1:14:51Speaker 01

  Right. And I mean, you can't take the liquid on the airplane. So this is just food.

• 1:14:54Rich Roll?

  Right. So that won't work for that.

• 1:14:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, just for food.

• 1:14:56Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:14:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, we do that. And again, it's sort of like it's a mix. Sometimes they have stuff that, you know, you can sort of make do with. And then other times they don't have anything that's even remotely close to.

• 1:15:09Rich Roll?

  Right. I mean, it depends on, on the airport that you're flying out of and all kinds of variables. Like I know if I'm, if I'm flying American Airlines out of LAX, there's a real food daily in that terminal. Like I can get a green juice and make, you know, some kind of amazing plant-based sandwich and bring it on the plane with me. But, you know, you can't rely on that. So when you're in a situation where it's not, where it's unpredictable, it's better to just plan ahead. So, you know, go to the store and buy a bunch of snacks and put it in your carry-on bag is one. I mean, duh, it's like elementary, right?

• 1:15:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:15:38Rich Roll?

  But in terms of the destination where you're arriving, you know, take 15 minutes before you go on that trip to go online, you know, just Google and research where the restaurants are. Get the Happy Cow app for your phone, which tells you where all the vegan and vegetarian restaurants are, no matter where you are in the world. Try to identify where the natural food markets are. See what their approximate location is to wherever you're staying. Another great rule of thumb is when at all possible, try to make sure if you're staying, if you're staying in a hotel, try to get one of those hotels that has a little kitchenette. And perhaps you can go directly from the airport to the natural food markets before going to your hotel to check in. Pick up a few things that,

• 1:16:20Rich Roll?

  you know, will be kind of essentials to have in the event that you can't get to a restaurant that's going to serve your needs. You can make something in your hotel, or at least have some healthy snacks, or get the almond milk, or what have you, so that you have your kind of bases covered for emergency situations.

• 1:16:37Speaker 01

  Yeah. And also, one thing that would be extremely helpful is if you could find a way to arrange a blender at your, at your destination. You know, it'd be easier in Airbnb situations, obviously, but in some of the hotels that have, you know, kitchenette, you know, maybe asking, inquiring, and seeing if you can get a blender would be good. The one thing that I have noticed is, you know, not every place has that sort of extra kick of nutrition that we like to have on a daily basis, like chia seeds, like hemp seeds, like cacao powder, like goji berries. Those are all, all four of those things would be, sometimes I like to just travel with small packets of those, not, not a huge quantity, but something that I could add in.

• 1:17:19Speaker 01

  You know, I was just at this cafe down the street in Paris, it's called Hope Cafe. It's really sweet little cafe and they have a lot of vegan alternatives and we've eaten there twice already. However, you know, their smoothies are not there. Like their smoothies have like apple juice, cacao powder and soy milk or something like that. So again, if I, and I asked her, you know, do you have chia seeds? Do you have hemp seeds? And they don't have them. So if, you know, having those extra things to sprinkle on your oatmeal, you know, you can always get oatmeal in almost any hotel in any place in the world. And I still maintain that that is the best Ayurvedic morning meal. It is nourishing, it stops

• 1:18:01Speaker 01

  your adrenals from being fried, balances you. It's extremely good. And that's across the board for everyone. You don't need to eat more than a fistful, but this is the morning porridge recipe that I have in the Plant Power Way. So if you travel, you can bring the extras that you throw on top of the cereal or the oatmeal, which will make just ordinary oatmeal, a superfood powerhouse meal.

• 1:18:27Rich Roll?

  Yeah. And in the United States, like my sort of default, like worst case scenario situation is Chipotle. Like, and if you're going, if you're anywhere near like a major city in the United States, and even in Europe, we saw one, and we went to one in Frankfurt, there's generally going to be a Chipotle nearby and you can go and you can get a bowl with rice and beans and, you know, guacamole and salsa, or make a burrito or something like that. And there you go. Boom. Like you have a, a, you know, satisfying, plant-based meal available to you.

• 1:19:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, very easy and non-GMO.

• 1:19:06Rich Roll?

  Yeah, non-GMO, plant-based and filling, you know what I mean? So you don't have to starve and eat lettuce. Or when you go to some restaurant where they don't know how to make plant-based stuff and you end up with something that, you know, isn't really gonna hit the spot for you. You know, Chipotle works, it does. So there's no reason to not do that. That always fills the gap for me. But I think it's just using your basic common sense and just saying, I'm gonna take 10 or 15 minutes to plan ahead of time before this trip to just inquire and look into what's available, where I'm going. You know, maybe you have friends there, maybe there's a Facebook community, vegan Facebook community for that city where people communicate about what the best options are. Like, if you just take the time to look into it, because of the internet, like, so many

• 1:19:49Rich Roll?

  of these issues can be resolved. So I don't think it's like, fair to be like, "Well, I travel all the time and it's just hard and I can't do it." Like, that's just lazy.

• 1:19:59Speaker 01

  No, you can do it. And it just takes a, it takes just a couple emails and a couple actions.

• 1:20:06Rich Roll?

  It's not like hours of time, you know what I mean? It's just having the forethought to go, "Oh, I should, let me just make sure I look into this before I go, so I know what I'm getting into."

• 1:20:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, definitely.

• 1:20:15Rich Roll?

  You can make it work. I mean, I've been traveling constantly, I've gone to all kinds of crazy places, and it doesn't always end up being, you know, the ultimate meal that you're looking for, but I'm telling you that you can always make it work, one way or the other.

• 1:20:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, we had some great Ayurvedic Indian food in, outside of Frankfurt, and we've had just really pretty amazing food, actually.

• 1:20:37Rich Roll?

  Cool, well, all right, I think we did it.

• 1:20:40Speaker 01

  That's it?

• 1:20:41Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 1:20:42Speaker 01

  No other questions?

• 1:20:43Rich Roll?

  Well, there's plenty of other questions, but those can wait for another day.

• 1:20:45Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:20:46Rich Roll?

  You know, we're in Paris, so I would like to be able to go outside and enjoy it.

• 1:20:49Speaker 01

  You guys think he deserves it, to go out in Paris? Maybe we should do that.

• 1:20:52Rich Roll?

  Today's supposed to be like, a day off, and later tonight, I'm gonna be putting this podcast, I'm gonna be publishing this podcast, I'm gonna be working later, so I would like to go get a little daylight here.

• 1:21:01Speaker 01

  So, everyone, so, after this goes up, make sure to follow my Instagram, because I'm gonna post about, you know, 20 pictures, I'm gonna bleed the feed with...

• 1:21:09Rich Roll?

  You're not supposed to bleed the feed.

• 1:21:10Speaker 01

  I'm going to, I don't care, I'm going to post all these pictures from La Pege, because I wanna share what he's doing, amazing work that Alan is doing. So, anyway, so follow me at @shrimati on Instagram.

• 1:21:26Rich Roll?

  And are you gonna take us out with a song today?

• 1:21:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, I am. I think I'm gonna take you out with Aditya. The Aditya mantra.

• 1:21:36Rich Roll?

  Oh, wow. On the theme of the emotional inner work.

• 1:21:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, and the theme of emotional inner work.

• 1:21:41Rich Roll?

  It'll put you into a trance-like state, though. You better not be driving a car listening to this.

• 1:21:45Speaker 01

  Don't drive your car. No, you'll be fine. It's fine. It's actually this-

• 1:21:49Rich Roll?

  I think it's a groovy and cool song.

• 1:21:50Speaker 01

  This mantra is from the Ramayana, which is a thousands-of-year-old Indian sacred text. And it is the mantra that the sage gives to the hero, Rama, at his deepest, darkest point of evil, where he needs all the help that he can get to transcend and rise up out of his adversarial challenge, which is the form of very long raging war. So, anyway, it's: Om Aditya, Pridayam, Punyam, Sarva Shatru, Vinashanam,

• 1:22:33Speaker 01

  Jaya Vaham, Japam Nityam, Akshayam, Paramam, Shivam.

• 1:22:38Rich Roll?

  What does that translate into?

• 1:22:40Speaker 01

  So, let's see if I can remember. It's basically, I can't say right now. I can give it to you in the show notes, just because it's been so long. I wasn't even sure I could say that mantra just came.

• 1:22:50Rich Roll?

  Are you sure? So, you're gonna have to work tonight, too? You're gonna get that for me?

• 1:22:53Speaker 01

  Oh, it's easy. I'll remember. I just have to get into the present in a moment.

• 1:22:58Rich Roll?

  All right, awesome. Cool. Well, that's it. Thanks, you guys, for taking this ride with us today. Super fun. What do I got for you? Well, how do we leave this? How do we end this? Everybody should visit our restaurant, Joy Cafe, in Westlake Village, if you're in the LA area. Organic, plant-based, GMO-free, gluten-free. Amazing, amazing little spot that we're partnered in, that our friends Joy and Nick run, and we love it. We eat there all the time when we're in town. You can find me there at lunchtime quite often. But right now, we're out of town. But if you happen to be- If you live in LA, or if your travels take you there, please check it out. And also, check out The Karma Baker, our other partner.

• 1:23:43Rich Roll?

  It's a vegan and gluten-free bakery that's also in Westlake Village. And as I always say, this podcast is an amazing vehicle for having a global communication and creating community that is detached from location. And it has enriched my life and just been, it's my heart, I love it. It's been a beautiful experience. But it's also really cool to invest in your local community and try to help people there. And that's what Karma Baker and Joy Cafe are all about. It feels really good to be part of putting roots into the community and trying to help people there make transformations in their own lives by providing them with cool, healthy options, right? So that's nice.

• 1:24:28Rich Roll?

  For all your plant power needs, go to richroll.com. We've got all kinds of good stuff for you there, like Julie was talking about today, her meditation program. We have a few nutritional products. We've got signed copies of Plant Power Way and Finding Ultra. We have sticker packs. We have fine art prints. We have 100% organic cotton garments, all kinds of cool stuff. Basically, everything that you want and need to take your health to the next level. Right, Julie Poyet?

• 1:24:55Speaker 01

  That's right, Rich Roll.

• 1:24:57Rich Roll?

  Keep sending in the questions for a future Q and A podcast at [email protected]. We have a couple online courses at mindbodygreen.com. The Art of Living with Purpose and The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition. For more information on those, we're really proud of them, go to mindbodygreen.com and click on video courses. And just thanks for supporting the show, you guys, for telling your friends, for taking this journey with us, for being part of this amazing global community. We love you and I can't wait to just continue going further, pushing harder, getting better guests.

• 1:25:29Speaker 01

  Truly touched to meet so many of you in Europe. So thanks so much for coming out and for your beautiful hearts and your amazing, warm wishes. And just, we feel truly, truly blessed by all of you. So thank you.

• 1:25:44Rich Roll?

  Yeah, absolutely. And tune in in a couple of days to hear my conversation with Gabor Maté.

• 1:25:49Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:25:50Rich Roll?

  All right, peace. Plants.

• 1:25:52Speaker 01

  Namaste.

• 1:26:03Speaker 02

  Om Maditya Pradaya Puniya

• 1:26:13Speaker 02

  Sarva Shatru Vinashana

• 1:26:23Speaker 02

  Chaya Vaham Japamikya

• 1:26:33Speaker 02

  Akshaya Paramam Shiva

• 1:26:48Speaker 02

  Shiva

• 1:26:59Speaker 02

  Om Maditya Pradaya Puniya

• 1:27:09Speaker 02

  Sarva Shatru Vinashana

• 1:27:19Speaker 02

  Chaya Vaham Japamikya

• 1:27:29Speaker 02

  Akshaya Paramam Shiva

• 1:27:43Speaker 02

  Shiva

• 1:27:54Speaker 02

  Oh, Aditya, predaya kuya

• 1:28:04Speaker 02

  Sadva shatru vina shana

• 1:28:14Speaker 02

  Jaya vaham, japam nikyaam

• 1:28:24Speaker 02

  Akshayam param shiva

• 1:28:38Speaker 02

  Shiva

• 1:28:49Speaker 02

  Oh, Aditya, predaya kuya

• 1:28:59Speaker 02

  Sadva shatru vina shana

• 1:29:08Speaker 02

  Jaya vaham, japam nikyaam

• 1:29:18Speaker 02

  Akshayam param shiva

• 1:29:32Speaker 02

  Shiva

• 1:29:43Speaker 02

  Oh, Aditya, predaya kuya

• 1:29:53Speaker 02

  Sadva shatru vina shana

• 1:30:03Speaker 02

  Jaya vaham, japam nikyaam

• 1:30:13Speaker 02

  Aksham

• 1:30:18Speaker 02

  Parma Shiva

• 1:30:27Speaker 02

  Shiva

• 1:30:38Speaker 02

  Om Aditya Radhaaya

• 1:30:48Speaker 02

  Savashe Tru Vinaashana

• 1:30:57Speaker 02

  Jaya Baham Japam Nityam

• 1:31:07Speaker 02

  Aksham

• 1:31:12Speaker 02

  Parma Shiva

• 1:31:21Speaker 02

  Shiva

• 1:31:32Speaker 02

  Om Aditya Radhaaya

• 1:31:42Speaker 02

  Savashe Tru Vinaashana

• 1:31:51Speaker 02

  Jaya Baham Japam Nityam

• 1:32:01Speaker 02

  Aksham Parma Shiva