Plant-Based On A Budget, Unleashing Your Inner Mentor & Tips For Raising Healthy Teens (Plus Win a SOMA!)

It's been a while, but Julie and I are finally back with another installment of Ask Me Anything — a twist on my typical format where we answer questions submitted by you, the listener. I absolutely love this format, primarily because it connects me more deeply and authentically with the global community of people who enjoy the show. Because community is truly what it's all about. This is an exciting time for us. We have been working super hard getting everything ready for the impending release of The Plantpower Way, so we thought it would be fun to share a little behind the scenes on why we wrote the book; the collaborative and often intense two-year process undertaken to create it; the insane amount of effort and diligence required to launch a book into the mainstream; and our ultimate aspirations for the work. Then the conversation turns to listener submitted inquiries. A conversation that explores: parenting tips for temperamental teenagers; the nutritional needs of athletic plant-based kids; the journey towards service & mentorship; tips for starting a podcast based on Rich's experience; gender challenges faced in the wellness lifestyle; pursuing a plant-based lifestyle on a budget; the impact of increasing nutrient density on appetite & cravings; and culminates with In the Sun- an original song by SriMati (aka Julie) It was really fun to once again sit down with Julie — my wife and co-collaborator — to engage with the audience first hand, hashing out free-form the subjects you care about most. Thank you everyone who submitted the 100's of questions we reviewed. If we didn't get to yours (obviously chances are we didn't), nonetheless please keep them coming. I plan on doing many more supplemental Q&A focused editions of the show (both with Julie and surprise guest hosts), so don't be shy. Fire your queries off to [email protected] and we'll do our best to answer! I sincerely hope you enjoy the offering. 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.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  Everybody has something to share, and if it's shared from your level of experience, from a pure and authentic place, and from a place of humility and a place of transparency, it is powerful, you know, across the board.

• 0:15Rich Roll?

  That's Julie Piatt, and this is another Ask Me Anything episode of the Rich Roll Podcast.

• 0:34Rich Roll?

  Hey, everybody. Welcome to the show. Welcome back to the show. I am Rich Roll. I am your host. Back at you for a second episode this week, our second week in a row of doing two episodes a week. And I'm joined today by my lovely co-author and wife, mother of my children. How's it going?

• 0:56Speaker 00

  It's going good.

• 0:57Rich Roll?

  That's Julie Piatt, if you're new to the podcast.

• 1:00Speaker 00

  Hi, everyone. Thanks for inviting me back on Rich Roll.

• 1:03Rich Roll?

  Do you know what the mission is here?

• 1:04Speaker 00

  I kind of do. I'm watching you live the mission.

• 1:07Rich Roll?

  You want to give it a shot of articulating the mission of the podcast?

• 1:10Speaker 00

  What you do here at Rich Roll Podcast, at the Rich Roll Podcast, is you inspire people to find and discover and live their most authentic versions of themselves. And how do you do that? You do that by having the best and the brightest, most groundbreaking, thought-provoking, heart-inspiring guests that you can find on the planet to uplift and inspire and lead us all into the depths of our hearts.

• 1:40Rich Roll?

  I like that.

• 1:41Speaker 00

  Is that okay?

• 1:42Rich Roll?

  You should do the intro every week. It's the mission. The mission is to help you live and be better. So each week, I sit down with the best and the brightest across all categories of life, health, and excellence to blow the ceiling off your personal potential.

• 1:57Speaker 00

  And you're doing it for us, and thank you. Thank you for that.

• 2:00Rich Roll?

  Thank you for saying that. And thank you to you guys, the listeners, for subscribing to the show on iTunes. We appreciate that.

• 2:11Rich Roll?

  The whole iTunes thing is funky, like how that works with the rankings and everything.

• 2:14Speaker 00

  How does that work?

• 2:15Rich Roll?

  Sometimes I'm number one and sometimes I'm number 20. I don't know how that works. I think it has to do with, it's not just the number of people that have listened to the episode, it has to do with new subscribers, and it also has to do with reviews. So if you guys out there have an extra second, go to the iTunes page and give us a review. That helps us out a lot.

• 2:33Speaker 00

  Give us a very good review. That would help us out. A five-star review.

• 2:37Rich Roll?

  That would be preferred, but I'm not here to tell anybody what they should do. Also, thank you for spreading the word about the show to your friends, to your colleagues on social media. I always love the Instagram posts of people enjoying the podcast out in the wild, you know, on their bike, or at work, or in the car, or what have you. And thanks for subscribing to my newsletter. I send out those updates every week, as well as product deals, and I'm gonna start doing more with the newsletter soon. And also, thank you for clicking through the Amazon banner ad, at richroll.com for your Amazon purchases. That actually helps us out quite a bit, and it's pretty cool that so many people have bookmarked that and they use it. Every time they go to Amazon, they make sure that we

• 3:22Rich Roll?

  get credit for that. It doesn't cost the consumer anything extra. It comes out of Amazon's pocket, and that helps us keep this little train chugging along the tracks.

• 3:35Speaker 00

  That's right.

• 3:36Rich Roll?

  So, thank you.

• 3:37Speaker 00

  Thank you.

• 3:45Rich Roll?

  So you're writing a bunch of blog posts right now that are gonna be going out.

• 3:48Speaker 00

  I am. I am.

• 3:49Rich Roll?

  On what kind of subject matter?

• 3:51Speaker 00

  I don't know.

• 3:52Rich Roll?

  Yeah, you do.

• 3:53Speaker 00

  Food.

• 3:54Rich Roll?

  Food, sharing some of the recipes.

• 3:56Speaker 00

  Yeah, sharing some of the recipes, also talking about, you know, how to handle cooking for meat eaters. Meat eaters in your family, in your extended family.

• 4:09Rich Roll?

  Cooking for them, or also how to kind of engage them verbally and emotionally?

• 4:14Speaker 00

  Um, no, this was, this exact, this exact post was really just, you know, three amazing recipes that will please the meat eaters in your life. So, yeah, some of it goes off, yeah, and some of the other... You know, the other emotional and energetic things you can do, like, you know, how to be, how to show up in a group of meat eaters.

• 4:33Rich Roll?

  Mm-hmm.

• 4:34Speaker 00

  And another one is, you know, why you should make time to cook, why everybody should make time. And also, you know, how to, or what are the benefits of, you know, showing up around the family table as a matter of habit or part of your lifestyle?

• 4:55Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 4:56Speaker 00

  Stuff like that. And also, I also just featured some amazing Whole Foods that I think just get left. You know, we're always looking at how to prepare things, but I just did, I did a post that just features, you know, some Whole Foods and brings them front and center and just sort of reminding us that nature gives us a lot of things already, you know, perfectly created and we don't need to mess with them.

• 5:17Rich Roll?

  Mm-hmm.

• 5:18Speaker 00

  So I did one of those.

• 5:19Rich Roll?

  But those posts haven't, they haven't been published yet.

• 5:20Speaker 00

  No, they're not published.

• 5:21Rich Roll?

  For people that are listening, right?

• 5:22Speaker 00

  No, you'll find, you'll see them.

• 5:23Rich Roll?

  There's nowhere to go right now, so they're gonna start rolling out.

• 5:24Speaker 00

  That's right.

• 5:25Rich Roll?

  Soon.

• 5:26Speaker 00

  And I have more, I have a lot of writing to do, so I'm feeling that pressure.

• 5:29Rich Roll?

  How has this whole book process been for you?

• 5:32Speaker 00

  It's been pretty amazing. You know, it's, it's been, you know, I'm sort of, again, it's like, for me, I'm sort of, I'm just, this is my first book, so I'm in, I'm more in a beginning place with it. So, but it's been amazing, you know? It's been amazing to, I mean, I think I'm on the brink of it, it's just sort of starting for me.

• 5:54Rich Roll?

  People are always asking me, or are interested in how we collaborated over it. Like, I think they wanna know if we got into big fights or something.

• 6:01Speaker 00

  Yeah, we did, totally did. Broke up, no, we didn't really.

• 6:05Rich Roll?

  No.

• 6:06Speaker 00

  No, I mean-

• 6:07Rich Roll?

  I mean, it was pretty evenly divided, like, it was kind of natural, like, what you would be mostly focusing on versus what I was gonna be mostly focusing on, so we were able to kind of, I mean, and we would swap pages.

• 6:17Speaker 00

  So we weren't fighting over, I want, I want my peanut butter cookie recipe in the book.

• 6:22Rich Roll?

  Well, obviously, you know, the actual recipe aspect of it is your domain. Like, I, you know, I made sure that that was your, you know, that you had full control over all of that with, you know, I had some input, but that was really your thing, and I was more focusing on the editorial content, which we split up between both of us. I mean, there's opinion pieces by me and opinion pieces on you. And it has this kind of really nice yin yang kind of thing to it because we both offer complementary but sort of different perspectives on issues.

• 6:50Speaker 00

  Well, I would say, I mean, in our family, I'm the chef and you're the, you know, you're more the nutrition expert, you know. And so, you know, I do, what's interesting about our relationship is that we came to this lifestyle through two very different lenses. So, you know, I actually, I mean, I came to it originally through healing myself of assisting my neck. And then that went deeper into the aspects of energetics in Ayurveda and meditation and frequency for me. And you came into it also through a health scare, but then you were focused on performance, like athletic performance.

• 7:28Rich Roll?

  What if it was the other way around and like you became the ultra athlete and then I was like the yoga dude?

• 7:33Speaker 00

  Well, I'm.

• 7:34Rich Roll?

  And you were like going to Ultraman. What would that look?

• 7:37Speaker 00

  I'm still, well, I'm still, I think half of that is happening. You are becoming the yoga dude.

• 7:43Rich Roll?

  I kinda am.

• 7:44Speaker 00

  And I'm still, I'm holding that vision for you so that will be the full actualization as you come through this athleticism and then, you know, you'll be the guy with the orange robes and the beard.

• 7:54Rich Roll?

  I am like, you know, like when I was at the US Olympic Training Center, giving my talk to the young swimmers, you know, I was getting up and talking to them about mindfulness and yoga and how that can have a positive impact on their performance. And I put a slide up that was a picture of me in a lotus position, you know, and I'm thinking Julie's really the one who should be talking about this, not me, you know, I'm just like the front man for the wisdom that really is coming from you on that. And then the other irony is that, you know, I did, I did, I did a podcast interview with Andy Pudiccombe, who's the founder and co-CEO, I think, of Headspace, which is a meditation

• 8:37Rich Roll?

  app that I talk a lot about and I'm always supporting and kind of telling people they should check it out. I have no business affiliation with them whatsoever. I just think it's a helpful tool. Andy was a great, amazing guest and I'm gonna be posting that interview soon. But I also did, they have their own podcast called Headspace Radio and I did that one. And now they've like, put me as one of their, like, they're doing like, a kind of month on fitness and wellness and so I'm one of their, you know, sort of fitness experts, like, in their blog and on their podcast and stuff like that. And that's another thing that's ironic because I feel like that's more your domain. I mean, I love it and I can speak to it and, you know, I certainly have reaped the benefits of that practice, but I think you're much further along down the line than I am in

• 9:22Rich Roll?

  that regard by a country mile.

• 9:24Speaker 00

  Well, I mean, you know, I think that, I think in life, you know, oftentimes you teach what you need to, you need to learn, you need to embody. I mean, and, you know, I also, I kind of giggle at myself also because I had a, I had a moment in my life where, you know, I wanted to sing since I was six years old and then I didn't do it for my whole life. But I did have a moment where my brother, who's this genius musician, Stuart Mathis, who plays for The Wallflowers and Lucinda, his wife, Holly at the time, just called me up and was like, "Hey, will you be in my band?" And I was like, "Hey, I'm not a musician." And she was like, "Yeah, hey, you are." So I just show up at rehearsal. So for a split second, I was in her band for like, three performances and I was terrified. I'd never sang on a mic, I'd never even spoken into a mic before.

• 10:08Speaker 00

  And from that, those three events, it was only three shows because then we didn't do it anymore because Stuart got some tour and he was gone and that was over. But I had photographs from that moment in my life, really awesome photographs of me singing, me onstage singing. And I had them up in my house. And they sat there for 10 or 15 years until I had my awakening with music and became a musician. So I always kind of, like, when I see that picture of you meditating that's in the book, for instance, and, you know, you're new to meditation, you're very new to meditation, you're just beginning to sit and, you know, and I mean, if you look at it in the vast,

• 10:50Speaker 00

  you know, the vast scheme of things, I'm very new to meditation, you know, honestly. So even though I've been doing it for, you know, 20 years. So it's, um... It's all perfect. It's like, you know, of course you should be teaching that and of course you should be embodying that. And I look at that and I go, let that be a, a, what do you call it, like a, a sign of what is coming. So I don't look at that picture of you in the book and go, I, that should be me meditating. That's not what I think. I look at it and go, wow, let that be a sign of what is coming in his evolution. Wouldn't that be beautiful?

• 11:25Rich Roll?

  What is coming?

• 11:26Speaker 00

  Well, I don't know. Only you know.

• 11:28Rich Roll?

  No, I don't know.

• 11:29Speaker 00

  No, I hope, I mean, I hope that, you know, I, I hope if it, if it fulfills you and if it touches you and if it, if you find meaning in it and, and value in it, that you continue to explore meditation and to explore the deeper, more expanded spiritual aspects of yourself.

• 11:48Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 11:48Speaker 00

  I would wish that for every human being.

• 11:50Rich Roll?

  Yeah, that's the plan. You know, that's the, I mean, I've embarked on that quite imperfectly, but at least, you know, the ship is pulled out of the dock, right?

• 12:00Speaker 00

  Exactly.

• 12:01Rich Roll?

  So, I mean, that's a good place for me to ask you, you know, what do you think is, what is your, you know, hope and aspiration for this book? Like, what is it? Like, if you could have your, your way with, you know, it's, it's gone out into the world and, and it's doing its thing. Like, how do you, you know, what is your vision for that?

• 12:21Speaker 00

  Well, I mean, you know, from a very, a deep part of the, of the creation of it is, you know, I understand what a gift and what a blessing it is to feed people and that, how much nurturing and power and transformation and love is inherent in the food that we eat and in the sacred rite or ritual of actually serving food. And, you know, anybody that's been over to our house, you know, they come in and, you know, their encounter, they're embraced with a lot of creativity, a lot of sharing, a lot of openness. You know, our space is very open. It's open to nature. So there's beautiful design. There's music. There's-

• 13:06Speaker 00

  Open energy, a welcoming energy, and then there's a lot of amazing tasting food. And, you know, it's chaotic, it's not all neat and pretty, you know, it's a family of seven, you know, that are all artists and all existing and all creating and things aren't always in place. Like, if I had one, you know, one sort of thing in the back of myself that bugs me once in a while is I wish I had sort of an extra aspect of me that could put things in order a little bit better when somebody comes in. But when somebody comes into our house, they really get the essence of us if they come and spend an afternoon with us. And I feel like that is what we have shared through the book.

• 13:48Speaker 00

  It's almost like we've invited the reader into our home and we've allowed them to experience a slice of our life with us, you know, through the lifestyle, through it being shot, you know, mostly at our home, in the area, the land that where we love, you know, where we live. And, yeah, I feel like we, it's sort of like we've prepared a seat at our family table and we've said, "Come on in and join us." Because obviously, we don't have the physical capacity to invite people all over the world into our home. But we've really done it with this book. And so, if I had a, like, a core desire is I, I just hope that the book inspires, touches

• 14:32Speaker 00

  something deep inside someone else that inspires them, whether it's creatively, spiritually, athletically, like, in the kitchen with food. I just hope that it inspires something that's really pure and authentic within each one of you and that, from our example of living our life, that you can find a starting point to jump off into your own expression that will carry you way beyond what we've experienced or in a different way, in your own unique way. But that would be, that would be my deepest dream for the book.

• 15:10Rich Roll?

  Yeah, it's not like, "Well, I hope that you, you know, can make, you know, a pie a little bit more delicious."

• 15:20Speaker 00

  No, but you will.

• 15:21Rich Roll?

  You will, but.

• 15:22Speaker 00

  You'll actually make some really delicious pies.

• 15:24Rich Roll?

  Yeah, so I think it's, you know, that's the heart and the core of the book, right? It's, yes, it's filled with all of these, you know, delicious recipes and beautiful photography of the food, but, but it's really, on some level, it, you know, I feel like it transcends that because it's not, as much as it is about that, it's not about that.

• 15:45Speaker 00

  No, it's about a lifestyle. It's about showing that these aspects of food and these, these principles and these, these energies, these, these ideas that we live with and that we cultivate within our lives, they permeate out into all areas of your life. And, you know, nothing's perfect, nobody's perfect. It's a process. We call it an evolution-revolution. That's what it is. It's a moving, changing, living organism. And that is what each being, that's the life of each human being, you know? And so, yeah, it's a lifestyle.

• 16:28Speaker 00

  The Plant Power Way.

• 16:31Rich Roll?

  Okay.

• 16:33Rich Roll?

  Well, I want to, that was beautifully said, and I couldn't have said that better, for sure. I mean, I, you know, look, we're super proud of this book. We can't wait to share it. And, you know, we're, we're in the thick of it right now, like trying to do all this media stuff and get the word out about it. So, so we just, you know, I just, it's on our brains and we wanted to share that with you. So, thank you for that. And for people that, that haven't pre-ordered it yet, or maybe you're new to the show, we're offering $300,000 worth of pre-order bonus gift incentives for everybody who pre-orders a book prior to April 28th, which is the day it goes on sale. All kinds of cool stuff, like you'll get nine bonus recipes.

• 17:18Rich Roll?

  That are not in the book, you'll get all these discount codes, including like 20. If you preorder one book, you get 20% off an Omega juicer. And those are like amazing masticating juicers that are anywhere from like 230 bucks all the way up to like 450. So 20% off, that's significant savings. As it ramps up and you buy three books, you buy five books, you buy 10 books, that discount code goes up to like 40% and with all these other added extra awesome bonuses. So, you know, again, it's our way of saying thank you and it's cool to be able to say, hey, for, you know, the 28 bucks that you're going to spend at barnesandnoble.com or Indiebound or Amazon to pick up the book, you're going to get all this other stuff that's worth way more than 28 bucks, plus you get the book.

• 18:03Rich Roll?

  So, anyway. Yeah. Yes. There's some good stuff. Cool. There's a lot of really good stuff. Anyway, yeah, just go to ritual.com. The green band that shows up across the top of the page will direct you to the page that has all the information on how you can participate in all of that. So, okay, well, why don't we take some questions from the listeners? Yeah, let's get into it. Would you like to do that? Yeah, I'd love to do that. It's been a while since we've done the Q and A thing. Let's do it. Right? So I went through some of them and I found a couple of good ones and I thought a good one to kick it off with is one from Lars Tandrup.

• 18:42Rich Roll?

  And he writes as follows, "Your discussions about mindfulness and that you are not your thoughts can create your own reality have resonated very well with me. I sometimes look back at my life and wish I had known or paid attention to that earlier in my life. My daughter is 15 and in high school, and I think she and other young adults could benefit tremendously from learning and thinking about some of these concepts. I see the pressure they are being exposed to in terms of selecting college, tests, finding out who they really are, peer pressure, exposure to drugs, alcohol, et cetera." But I'm unsure how to approach the subject with her. Do you have any experience with good ways of discussing these concepts with teenagers? So I thought that was a pretty good question for you.

• 19:27Speaker 00

  Good question. Hi Lars, thanks so much for your question. You want me to take this?

• 19:31Rich Roll?

  Yeah, for sure.

• 19:32Speaker 00

  So, okay, so she's already 15. So she's already in sort of this teenager stage of her life. I have found the most powerful thing for teenagers is to get them into a yoga class. So whether, I don't know what kind of relationship you have with her. I don't know if you could go with her to a yoga class or if that would be frightening to her. She would want to go alone. But there are some versions of yoga that are out there that are being taught to music, to kind of popular music. And I found with teenagers that teaching them to a playlist that they like is an amazing

• 20:14Speaker 00

  tool and it actually, the physical yoga practice will start to do the transformation on her. And it's very enjoyable. It will release endorphins. It will make her feel good. It just really, really is nurturing to the body. And then I would say after that, you could explore doing some meditations together. I don't know how open she is. So maybe she's very worldly and she's very open to other ways of doing things. I would also suggest my meditation program, which is Jai Release on the Ritual site.

• 20:56Speaker 00

  It's a 30-minute guided meditation that she can put on her iPad and put headphones on and experience a pretty complete 30-minute meditation. So those are two ideas that I have.

• 21:11Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I think that's a wise approach as opposed to let's sit down and have a talk and I'm going to preach to you about the benefits. It's not going to work, right?

• 21:20Speaker 00

  She's not going to hear that.

• 21:21Rich Roll?

  I think the other thing would be to figure out like, well, who is she into? Like, who does she sort of respond to in terms of popular culture, pop culture figures out there and who among those people is into something like that? Like, for example...

• 21:39Rich Roll?

  Like Russell Brand, he's all about mindfulness and meditation. He talks about this stuff a lot. And he has the ability to connect with younger people in a way that, you know, a lot of other people can't. So I'm not saying Russell Brand is the person that your daughter should tune into, but maybe there's somebody that's more on her wavelength that she can hear the message from.

• 21:57Speaker 00

  Yeah, definitely.

• 21:58Rich Roll?

  I mean, in our case, you know, we, our boys are 20 and 18, and they're all about this kind of stuff. But it wasn't, it was different in the sense that it wasn't like they reached 15 and you decided to have, that it was time to deal with this. They just grew up with it because they're, because you're their mom.

• 22:13Speaker 00

  Yeah, I mean, they went in and out. Like, I can just, I have a visual, actually, going to one of these kind of high-energy rock and roll yoga classes. And they would sometimes come with me to class and hang off my body. I had two little kind of babies hanging off the front and the back. And then they went through different phases. They went through phases where they weren't into it at all. And I wouldn't say that they're, you know, they're not ultra-flexible, you know, yogi types. However, they are, you know, they're very into yoga. Yoga's a part of their life, and we meditate together, and they meditate without me. And, you know, they're pretty much, I know, I told them the other day, actually, in the car, I said, "I know you guys will be okay because I know you have yoga."

• 22:57Speaker 00

  So it's not that life isn't going to present difficulties. It is because that's how life is designed. But I feel like they're good because they have tools. They have meditation practice, and they have yoga practice that they can do no matter where they are. And they do turn to it in times of stress, in times of, you know, where they're feeling, you know, just some transformation going on. I would also say, a really amazing thing you could do for your daughter is find, you know, the best yoga center in town and buy her a month series. And just, and agree to drop her off. Just say, "I'm gifting you this. Anytime you want to go, I'll take you and I'll drop you," or whatever. That's what I would do.

• 23:37Rich Roll?

  That's great. And then, and then she can, she can kind of take ownership of it herself as opposed to you telling her this or that.

• 23:45Speaker 00

  Yeah, that's right. And then the other thing, Lars, is I would get her autobiography of a yogi if she likes to read. It's a very, a very amazing book, a classic yoga text. And it's a story, and a lot of young people enjoy reading that, and people of all ages. But check it out.

• 24:03Rich Roll?

  Timothy Sheaf was over at the house a couple of weeks ago to do another podcast. I just love that guy. He's the parkour artist ninja dude that can do handstands on the top of the Brooklyn Bridge and stuff like that. He's just an extraordinary individual and he's kind of really, like, he has evolved since the first time that we sat down with him.

• 24:25Speaker 00

  He didn't even look the same.

• 24:26Rich Roll?

  He looks totally different. Now he's got long hair and his interests are shifting and he's expanding and it's pretty cool to see. And he's really starting to get into meditation and yoga in a way that he wasn't the first time he came over. I mean, I think you could see him dancing around these ideas and it's not surprising that he's moved towards it, but it's different now. Like, he's like all in, in a way that he wasn't before. And he was looking for some books to read, so we gave him our copy of Autobiography of a Yogi, which I've read like three times and it's all dog-eared and the pages are all bent in it and stuff like that. And he's digging it. Like, he's tweeted about it, like, he's quoting from it in his Twitter feed and he emailed and just said how grateful

• 25:09Rich Roll?

  he was to have been gifted that book because he's really getting a lot out of it.

• 25:13Speaker 00

  That's so cool. And I also, actually, he kept, he was asking me sort of second and third questions. It took me a minute and he was like, is there any, are there any physical practices in this book? And then I said, wait a second. And I went up and I got a book that is, it's by the Bihar School of Yoga and it's Swami Satchidananda and Saraswati. And it's like the original, very, very classical asana book. And so I gave it to him and it had actually been signed by his successor, so it was signed by Narasimha. And I said, this is a very sacred book, but it's perfect that I gave it to him because he's the master of physicality.

• 25:57Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 25:57Speaker 00

  You know, so I hope that he-

• 25:58Rich Roll?

  Who else would you give it to?

• 25:59Speaker 00

  Who else would I, probably no one. I would have never, I would have never given it to anybody, but-

• 26:04Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 26:04Speaker 00

  Yeah, it's really cool. So great.

• 26:06Rich Roll?

  Yeah. And I don't know when I'm posting that interview with Timothy, but probably in the next couple of weeks or something like that.

• 26:11Speaker 00

  And I have to say, it was a little bit hard for me to give him that Autobiography of a Yogi copy because it's our copy that we had when we were living in the teepees. I look at that and I can see the teepees when we were building our home. And but anyway, it was good to give it to him.

• 26:27Rich Roll?

  All the more beautiful that we gave it to him.

• 26:29Speaker 00

  Yeah, it was.

• 26:30Rich Roll?

  All right, let's move on to another question.

• 26:31Speaker 00

  Thanks, Lars. Good luck with that.

• 26:33Rich Roll?

  So this is from Michelle Rhodes and she asks, "My question has to do with my kids who are 17 and 14 and who play national soccer and lacrosse respectively. How do I modify their plant-based diet to be sure that they are getting the proper nutrients to fuel their explosive sprint-based sports?" So, yeah, so we have some experience with this. Trapper, our 18-year-old, played varsity soccer this year. And now our 11-year-old, Mathis, is playing hockey, which is an interesting thing. I would have not predicted that I would have become a hockey dad, but that's what's happening. And so, yeah, so, you know, they're plant-based and as all our kids are.

• 27:17Rich Roll?

  So the question has to do with what you would change to make sure that they're getting everything that they need. And my answer to that really is not much. You know, I don't think that you have to really do anything that different. I think that the the main thing is that, you know, their caloric needs are going to be a little bit higher. So portion sizes are probably going to be bigger. But if you're feeding them, you know, basically, you know, whole plant-based foods, prepared, you know, pretty close to their natural state, that, you know, nature will rig it for you to make sure that, you know, they're getting what they need. But to the extent that you're looking for kind of tips for for just making sure or being able to sleep better at night, you know,

• 27:59Rich Roll?

  plant-based foods that are higher in protein, making sure that maybe you up the percentage of things like lentils, mung beans, quinoa, and always making sure they're getting their greens. You know, if you're eating a plant-based diet, but you're not getting your greens in every day, I think that you're missing out. They're so dense in phytonutrients and micronutrients. So I think that's important. I think, you know, pre-practice, you know, for them to have a green smoothie with kale and, you know, maybe put some beets in there, which really help with athletic performance in a training context, they help with the Uptake of oxygen and carrying it through your bloodstream to your muscles.

• 28:41Rich Roll?

  So adding a little beet in there is great. But I think you don't have to overcomplicate it. Their carbohydrate needs are probably going to be higher. So sweet potatoes or the potato salad that's in our cookbook are probably good. I mean, what are some of the things that Trapper, who's 18 and is in this category, prefers? Like, what are his favorite dishes that you make for him? Or that you're always trying to make sure that he gets so that he feels good before and after his practices?

• 29:07Speaker 00

  Well, I mean, he just eats a lot of food. I mean, he eats good portions and good quality food, stays away from processed foods, packaged foods. Don't be eating vegan junk food and think that that's a good thing. So I would stay away from gluten for inflammation across the board, whether you think you're gluten insensitive or not. And coconut water, definitely introduce coconut water to replenish the system. Using small amounts of turmeric root, just hide it in the smoothie or sprinkle it in a soup or stew. That's really good for reducing inflammation. Another one of my favorites is hemp seeds. Make sure that they get hemp seeds and chia seeds.

• 29:51Rich Roll?

  High in omega-3s and hemp seeds are also high in protein.

• 29:55Speaker 00

  So you can sprinkle those in a morning porridge. You know, some kind of really, oatmeal has a gluten in it, but it's very, very low. So it could be some oatmeal mixed with some chia seeds and some hemp seeds. Get some walnuts in there, even goji berries. My seven-year-old loves goji berries, which is great. So those are some things you can do. And the other thing that I would also add in, especially if there's an energy, you know, a little energy concern. Put a half a teaspoon of a good quality spirulina into either the oatmeal. That'll be more intense because they'll see the green and it depends on the kid, you know, what it is. But you could put it into the smoothie or even just dissolve it in water and drink it.

• 30:40Speaker 00

  I find that to be extremely energizing.

• 30:44Rich Roll?

  Yeah, sometimes I'll take like half a tablespoon of spirulina, put it in water with lemon and just drink it. Which is intense maybe for somebody who's new to this, but it makes me feel great, actually.

• 30:56Speaker 00

  That's really good. Also bananas, I think. Did I say bananas, like for cramping?

• 31:00Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I mean, well, that's kind of a myth now. Actually, there's this idea that like... That bananas have all this potassium, but they're actually not that high.

• 31:08Speaker 00

  It's a myth now?

• 31:10Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I know, isn't that interesting? There's other foods.

• 31:12Speaker 00

  You ate a lot of bananas.

• 31:13Rich Roll?

  I think that the thing that you butt up against, and we've experienced this, is when you go to the games or the practices and there's always one parent, it's their week to bring the snacks or the food or whatever, and 99.99% of the time, it's just the worst stuff ever. Like, it's just pizza or just garbage. You know, it's garbage food. And then there's a lot of candy bars and sports bars and sugary drinks and the Gatorades and all that kind of stuff. So, you know, trying to find healthier alternatives for that for your child can sometimes be tricky, especially when they're on a team and they want to be doing what their other kids are doing, and there's a little bit of peer pressure involved.

• 31:53Rich Roll?

  But, you know, coconut water, bananas, dates, things like that are actually much more effective and obviously much more nutritious than most of that kind of stuff.

• 32:04Speaker 00

  Well, and I took fruit smoothies, too. I was snack mom for Mathis's hockey game this week, and I took fruit smoothies. And I was shocked that half of the kids refused them.

• 32:15Rich Roll?

  Right, like, what was in the fruit smoothie? Like, it wasn't green, right?

• 32:18Speaker 00

  No, I made sure. I was like, don't, it was like, I better roll in mellow, right? So, I just roll, and I also had some gluten-free vegan cupcakes from our bakery, from Carmen Baker, but, which are, which, you know, are not, I cannot say that they're health food. You know, they're just not. But I brought some of those little mini ones, and then I brought the smoothies. But it's interesting, yeah, I kept the green out, and even as is, you know.

• 32:41Rich Roll?

  So, it was like banana, strawberry?

• 32:43Speaker 00

  Basically, maybe some chia.

• 32:45Rich Roll?

  And that just freaks some of the kids out?

• 32:47Speaker 00

  Yeah, and then half were really, really excited, and half the parents were really excited, and so I think we made a difference, you know, but, you know, half were like, you know, I'm not touching that.

• 32:57Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 32:58Speaker 00

  It's the microbes. You know, literally their microbes are like, you know, start to freak out. So, you just have to, you just have to stand there and just, you know, just be neutral and just, you know. So, I said, oh, I'll volunteer to come again, so let me know if you want me to do it another time.

• 33:15Rich Roll?

  I think, you know, for me, in an athletic context and making sure that like I'm kind of getting what I need, you know, it just has to be hearty, you know, it has to like stick to the bones. I can't eat like just some light meal after a huge workout. Like I need something that has some heft to it, like, you know, a giant bowl of chili or some, some of that Azuki bean pasta, you know, with your plant-based fettuccine sauce or, you know, lentils, you know, lentils are actually great for that if you mix in veggies and other things like that. So

• 33:46Speaker 00

  Yeah, I mean, the other thing that we have

• 33:47Rich Roll?

  For me, it's mostly about portions.

• 33:49Speaker 00

  In the cookbook coming up and you know, there's a whole section is it's our one bowls. And, you know, there are periods of our life that those are just coming out of our kitchen all the time. So they're pretty close to a macrobiotic type of eating. So it's a sauteed green with, you know, a quinoa or a rice or a millet and then maybe a baked yam or some sauteed bananas or some fresh avocado with a sauce, some kind of sauce, whether it's gluten-free tamari. It could be like a ginger glaze with, you know, some fresh ginger root and fresh turmeric, or it could be just like a cashew cheese sauce with some nutritional yeast in it, which has a lot of B vitamins. And make sure also that you guys are getting

• 34:33Speaker 00

  B12. Make sure you're taking a B12 supplement and incorporating nutritional yeast into your diet as much as possible.

• 34:47Rich Roll?

  Next one. This one is from Wade. What's up Wade? Wade asks, "I would love some tips and lessons you have learned along the way of your podcasting journey so I can get off to a good start." This guy's looking to start a podcast focusing on vegans in business and providing business tips for vegan entrepreneurs. All right, well, awesome, man. Very cool. You know, things that I've learned along the way. I think the first thing is, I don't know, you know, it's not like I had it all planned out and when I decided to do it, like, we just started it, you know, and it's kind of gone on its own journey. But I think the most important thing that I've learned

• 35:28Rich Roll?

  has nothing to do with what kind of mic you're using, or what your audio setup is, or, you know, all of that kind of technical stuff. You'll learn how to do that the way that works for you as you go along. The most important thing to me is, is, you know, what are you doing that no one else is doing? Like, what is your, what is your sort of, you know, place in the marketplace? Like, what kind of content are you going to be putting out that, you know, isn't already readily available or being done by somebody else? So I think that's the first thing. Like, not that it has to be contrived, but I think that you have to say, "Oh, you know, I'm interested in this subject matter and I couldn't find it anywhere." So that's a niche that could be filled. So I think that's important. And then the second thing is, if you're going to be doing an interview show, I mean, the

• 36:12Rich Roll?

  most important thing that I've learned over the 140 episodes of doing this, is that what's much more important to me is, the most important thing to me is having an authentic exchange and experience with the person that I'm talking to. And that trumps everything else. That trumps the information, that trumps the questions, it trumps the answers. For me, it has to feel like we connected and through that dance that occurs, something genuine was expressed. So, the information must be subservient to that. And so that means that you have to be prepared for your interviews, but then you have to be willing

• 36:55Rich Roll?

  to throw that script out and just be present with what's happening. And guide it, but let it guide you as well. So what I've found is that when I do, when I'm a guest on a lot of shows... The person has come to the interview with their list of questions. And they're much more interested in making sure they get through all their questions than they are in what your response to those questions is, right? So, in an interview, like, kind of interviewing 101 is, your next question is always built into the response that the person is giving to you. And if you're listening, you'll always know what your next question is, if you're really listening. But if you're not listening and you're looking at your list of questions, what happens is,

• 37:36Rich Roll?

  the question gets asked, I'll answer the question, and then there's a pause, and the person says, "Awesome." And then they ask the next question on the list. And to me, that's fine, I get it, but to me, that's not a dance. That's not a, I feel like it's a missed opportunity, right? It's not really a conversation. It's kind of a one-way street, as opposed to this spherical, you know, kind of organic living thing that has its own, you know, life and, and kind of, you know, place that it wants to go.

• 38:13Speaker 00

  Right.

• 38:14Rich Roll?

  So that's my biggest advice.

• 38:15Speaker 00

  Well, I think that's really profound advice, and I think that the way that you just expressed that, you know, is, is like a commentary on how the podcast for you has become a meditation and mindfulness, actually. So you're, you're actually open, you have an idea where you're going, but you're open to be in the moment. What you're looking for is the energetic connection. And to the, the amount of success, or what you're calling success, is tied to your ability to be present in the moment with the person you're connecting to. That's meditation.

• 39:00Rich Roll?

  Sorry, I didn't hear anything. You just said something about something else.

• 39:05Speaker 00

  That's awesome. That's awesome.

• 39:08Speaker 00

  Yeah, so I mean, that's the difference. And I mean, well, the way that Rich does podcasts and prefers to, and sometimes he makes an exception to this, is that you're looking for the one-on-one, sitting in the room with the person. So you're not doing a bunch of Skype interviews, which makes it very, very rough if you don't have a big network.

• 39:26Rich Roll?

  I've broken my rule and done Skype interviews from time to time with varying levels of success. But, you know, all things being equal, like, you know, I would always, I always, you know, want, like, I always require that it's an in-person thing, because that's what it's about for me. And it doesn't matter how compelling the person is. On Skype, you're not getting the best version of what it would be if you were actually staring them in the face while it's happening. It's just different, you know, and that's what I'm looking for. That's much more important to me than, you know, making sure that a certain kind of kernel of information is expressed. And that's different from other people. Like, you know, and I don't have any judgment on it one way or the other. That's just the way that I prefer to do it.

• 40:09Rich Roll?

  And that's what I've found that I'm good at. And so, you know, because, I don't know, you know, that's what I try to do to distinguish what I'm doing from what other people are doing. And sometimes that makes it tricky, because there, you know, if I did Skype interviews, then I would have access to a lot more people, and I could put up more episodes. And, you know, I could get people on more timely with what they're doing. And, you know, it would just be a very different animal. So I realize that it takes me longer to get to certain people that I want to interview, because we have to be in the same place and all of that kind of stuff. So it puts it on more of a slow burn kind of thing. And, you know, I'm at peace with that. I'm fine with that. But to this guy's question... Wade's question. Yeah, I mean, I think I would really, you know, sit down and write

• 40:54Rich Roll?

  out like, what is it that you want to do? Look at what other people are doing in the related space. How is yours going to be different? Why should somebody tune in to listen to you as opposed to the alternative? And try to come up with something unique and different. And, you know, I think it's great. You know, I love the podcasting medium. I love the fact that it's having this moment right now, this kind of moment where it's never been more popular, which is so ironic because it's kind of the, you know, the original form of media.

• 41:24Speaker 00

  Going back, free radio.

• 41:26Rich Roll?

  Yeah, like radio. And I love the fact that, you know, people are out there starting podcasts left and right. So, good luck to you. Cool. So, let's move on. Carson Gross has a question. What are some first steps that a person can take to begin sharing things they've learned? For me, this relates mostly to nutrition and running. How can I start helping others discover these things that have helped me so much in my life? So, I think you could take that. It doesn't matter that it's about running or whatever it is. It's just this idea of taking something that you're interested in and you're passionate about and kind of, you know, flipping the switch and getting into kind of service or

• 42:07Rich Roll?

  this, you know, more of a, you know, teacher or mentor or, you know, kind of role.

• 42:13Speaker 00

  Yeah. I mean, I think one of the key things that we all have to go through in our evolution in the trajectory of becoming ourselves and returning home to who we really are is, you know, sort of a process of learning and unfolding and discovery. And I really feel like the only place that you can share from is from personal experience, right? Because that's all we all have. And what I would, I would...

• 42:42Speaker 00

  I would sort of raise a little caution or a little awareness to take a look at, to make sure that you're not running a program of, you know, I want to help people before you've hit a certain level of actualization in your own development. So, you know, I can speak to, you know, Rich and I had this, you know, this vision of the Plant Power Way. It was called Jai Lifestyle and it was, you know, existed 12 years ago when we first got our land and we had, you know, a website and we were doing yoga retreats in Italy and design and we had a tribe community, you know, where we would gather, we would have events, all this type of stuff.

• 43:25Speaker 00

  And on the surface, it was all seemingly really good stuff that we were trying to develop. And the truth of the matter is, both of us had a lot of transformation that we needed to go through before we could really serve and service. So, I would, you know, I don't know you, so I don't know where you are in your journey. So, I would just say, again, the only place you can start is within yourself and it must be very personal. So, if, if what you're looking for is an authentic path to service and then by doing that and by going deeper into yourself and into your own process and sharing that as

• 44:04Speaker 00

  authentically and transparently as possible, your life will then provide you certain transformational experiences. Some will be extremely challenging and you might be questioning your choices and, you know, some will be beautiful and expansive, you know, it will be the whole, the whole box. So, that's, you know, that's what I think. And I also would say that we all have to be very, very mindful in the fact that we're moving in a world where, you know, you're, you're required to make money, you know, there's a business kind of world running and then it's your own spiritual evolution. So, how do we bridge those two things? Mm-hmm.

• 44:45Speaker 00

  And I think it's very, very crucial to be very careful that you are not projecting your, your energy in any way via products, via opinions, via judgments on other people, telling them that this is the way they should do it. Because that is not balanced energy. So the only thing you can do is share from your experience with no manipulation and no coercion or wanting for anybody to be like you. So it is a very transparent process. And I feel like if you stay within those boundaries and you're just like, I'm sharing

• 45:30Speaker 00

  from my heart and this is what happened to me. You can stay clear of certain karmic trappings that will trip you up if you get in the illusion that you know the way for someone else and you're going to show them how to do it.

• 45:49Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I think that's wise. I would add a little bit of a caveat to that. I mean, there was some sense in your response that it's important to make sure that you're kind of well down your path of learning and knowledge and whatever it is that you want to share. And I think that, I mean, that's always evolving and progressing and continuing. There's no destination to that. I think that if you have gained some experience, that there is always value in sharing that as long as you're sharing it, as Julie said, in the context of your own experience as opposed to some kind of lecture-based approach.

• 46:32Rich Roll?

  In recovery, they say, like, people come in, they get sober, they put together a couple days, maybe a couple of weeks, and they really don't know anything about recovery. But somehow they've managed to stay sober for however short period of time that is. And there's a sense with most of these people, like, well, I don't really know what I'm doing, I don't have anything, there's no way that I can help anyone because I still don't know what I'm doing. But that person has had an experience that somebody who walks through the door, who's on their first day of sobriety, has not yet experienced. And so there's value and wisdom that that person can then share with that newcomer.

• 47:13Rich Roll?

  That maybe that newcomer will be able to receive because that person is going to be able to relate to the person who only has a couple of weeks of sobriety because the person who has 10 years, that just, they can't connect with that emotionally, right? So, there is, you know, this idea that, like, let's say you put it in the running context, like, somebody just ran their first 5K. They lost a bunch of weight, they ran their first 5K, they did it very slowly. Now, this person is not an expert on running, is not necessarily an expert on anything, but they were able to accomplish something. And I think to be able to share that experience to somebody else who has not yet run a 5K and is intimidated by that has value.

• 47:53Speaker 00

  Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, completely, 100% agree. And yes, everybody has something to share from where they are in their journey. I guess I was speaking a little bit more to the tendency in some of us to, you know, get a little bit of experience and then think that we need to go out and save the world, which in fact, we, we need to start right at home, within our own selves. And by, by starting at home and focusing at home and looking at yourself, you can then be a much greater healer, teacher, leader, you know, by that. But yes, there is, you know, everybody has something to share. And if it's shared from your level of experience, from a pure and authentic place, and from

• 48:36Speaker 00

  a place of humility and a place of transparency, it is powerful, you know, across the board.

• 48:48Rich Roll?

  All right, let's move on to a different question. This one is going to be for Julie. It's from Jen Robinson. Rich often talks about the difficulties that men face as they enter or walk the path of wellness and are perceived to be less masculine. Can you please talk about the difficulties or unique gender experiences that women face along this path?

• 49:11Speaker 00

  Hi Jen.

• 49:13Rich Roll?

  Do you have thoughts on that?

• 49:15Speaker 00

  Ask me the question again.

• 49:17Rich Roll?

  Can you talk about the difficulties or unique gender experiences that women face along this path? So is there something inherent to being a female that creates some kind of unique experience about you being, you know, plant-based?

• 49:30Rich Roll?

  Or, you know, I don't know.

• 49:33Speaker 00

  Not really, yeah, I'm not, I'm not really feeling that. Let me see if I can feel into what she's asking.

• 49:39Rich Roll?

  What do we say? We gotta leave Jen with something.

• 49:40Speaker 00

  Jen, we gotta give you something. I'm trying to feel in. Well, let's see.

• 49:46Speaker 00

  No, I mean, usually there's not, because it's not in this, in this world, it's not, you know, it's not viewed wimpy, you know, to then embrace plant, a plant-based diet, you know, it's like, you know, she's the alternative yoga hippie girl. So, maybe that would be it. I mean, I would say, I would say one case where I could share this experience is when I was faced with a golf ball-sized cyst that showed up in my neck rather quickly. And I went to, you know, doctors to get it checked out and had an MRI and everything. And when I decided that I was going to treat it naturally through the use of, you know,

• 50:27Speaker 00

  plant medicine and Ayurveda, I was marginalized by the doctors. I was, you know, patted on the head. I was also marginalized by Rich Roll, who's looking at me right now from behind the mic.

• 50:38Rich Roll?

  Yeah, well, the part that you left out is that every specialist said that it was never going to go away short of surgery, and that was just a fact. You know, and this was a long time ago, and I had a different perspective on things. So, yeah, I was concerned. I was like, the doctors are telling you, like, they've told you, you can't do this. Like, what are you doing?

• 50:55Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah. And so, so, yeah, so I would say probably, now I'm getting more to the core, thanks Jen, now I'm getting more to the core of what the question is for me. And that is that because I have chosen a wellness lifestyle, and because I know that there is power in the plants, and that they carry an actually energetic communication and resonance, which actually restored my body to a perfect balance as it was created, to heal itself. I am often marginalized by a lot of people, or that is their opinion to me is, you know, she's the hippie chick, or, you know, isn't that, you know, isn't that weird that she

• 51:39Speaker 00

  thinks that way? And, you know, when in fact, I have concrete experience that I healed myself of a massive cyst in my neck, which I don't know, you know, that many other people that have had the courage to actually go down that road and face my, you know, face themselves in that way. So that's probably the biggest challenge of me being me in this world. And I've had to, you know, practice a lot of compassion and neutrality. And also, I would say maybe one of my biggest wounds is, is other people feeling me to be so different from them, because I don't feel a difference between me and anybody. So I'm always the

• 52:22Speaker 00

  last to know. I sort of have this kind of childlikeness about me where, you know, I can be in a group and just not feel any separation. And then when I leave the group, they're like, whoa, she was really strange.

• 52:35Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I've witnessed that firsthand, by the way, where we'll be in a group of people and you'll start sharing some, you know, perspective that you don't realize in your mind.

• 52:46Speaker 00

  I don't.

• 52:47Rich Roll?

  Like, I have a, I have a pretty acute ability to kind of survey a room and, and kind of know where everyone's coming from. Like, I can kind of intuit that or empathize with everybody's perspective. And I'm probably too sensitive to that. I have this like people pleasing thing. And I think that's how I was able to develop that awareness. Whereas you don't really care. You're just like, hey, man, I'm here. And here, here's what I think. And then like, you'll like, lay something out. And I'm like, very aware, like, whoa, this is like.

• 53:13Speaker 00

  Oh, no, she did it again.

• 53:15Rich Roll?

  But you're like, yeah, but you're not, you're not aware that that's how it's landing. And so sometimes we've had conversations where I was like, yeah, you might want to dial that back a little bit next time.

• 53:26Speaker 00

  Dial that in a little bit.

• 53:27Rich Roll?

  And you're like, what do you mean?

• 53:29Speaker 00

  Well, I can't, you know, again, it's like, you know, the journey for me is just being who I am. That's all I can be. You know, it's kind of between me and me and me. And so I think that that's been challenging. But, you know, I also know that, you know, I know that there's wisdom in this way. And so I have to take refuge in knowing that even if somebody thinks I'm a little weird, or I'm a little off base, something I say, something I offer, maybe one little morsel of that is something that they take with them or sticks with them, and maybe it inspires them, and maybe it doesn't, and it's all okay.

• 54:07Rich Roll?

  By the way, Jen loves your music, and she'd like to hear more of it. And she wants to know if you're planning on writing your own memoir.

• 54:16Speaker 00

  Oh, Jen, thank you. That's so sweet. Thank you for listening to my music. It's just been one of the dearest, dearest expressions of my life. And I always greatly appreciate it when people take the time to listen to my music. It's created with my boys over seven years as we became musicians together. And I still pinch myself that I even got to experience that while I'm alive. Yes, I am writing my own memoir. As a matter of fact, I wrote, I had over 500 pages done. And I was writing it in a, sort of in a perspective

• 54:55Speaker 00

  of a homeschool movement, and that has now been put on hold. So I now have a new timeline. I have an agent, and I have a new structure, and I am actually diving back into that. So yes, I am writing my own memoir, and thank you for asking. And I hope to connect with you down the path. Thanks, Jen.

• 55:17Rich Roll?

  Cool. All right. This one's from Lisa Manche, and she wants to talk about...

• 55:26Rich Roll?

  Being plant-based on a budget. I mean, basically, she's saying, eating plant-based has become easier and fun for our family, but I continue to struggle with our purchases of other items on the high price tag that can sometimes come with those purchases. I constantly am in an internal struggle when I go shopping because I haven't done enough research or any at all, and I'm not sure what went into the process of making all of our belongings, or if I'm paying twice as much for nothing. I don't want to drive myself crazy worrying about this, but I would love to learn how to keep making conscious decisions to be ethical when it comes to providing our family with all the extras. I worry about everything from the next pair of running shoes I need to our shampoo. Can you help navigate the right road to living more ethically and putting the fun back into

• 56:10Rich Roll?

  shopping? So, this is a great question that I think brings up a lot of different things. I mean, we could talk about food and how to shop plant-based more economically, which is certainly something that everybody is interested in. And then, how do you kind of extend that awareness into the other consumer choices that you're making? This podcast has really been an exploration and expanding that awareness that we're bringing to food to other things. Like, we had Joshua Katcher on, and we're learning about how our clothes are made, where they're coming from. And when you talk to the food babe, you learn about, or with her and other people, like, some of the things that are going into our foods, and how to be more aware of that. And Gene Bauer said something interesting when I interviewed

• 56:55Rich Roll?

  him, which is that, you know, all of this is really, you know, when it comes to being, making more conscious consumer choices, it's an aspiration. You know, we all live in this world, right? If you drive in a car, or you ride in an airplane, like, nobody is going to be perfect. Like, we all are leaving some kind of footprint behind, and we can't walk this path without living in a cave in complete isolation, without, you know, having some kind of impact. So, it's about trying to be better and being more aware, but also understanding that you're not going to do it perfect, and, you know, you've got to make peace with that, I think, on some level, because otherwise, you're going to make yourself insane.

• 57:37Speaker 00

  Yeah, I mean, you know, again, it's an evolution revolution. So it's always moving. It's a process. Everybody's in their own, own space at their own time. I do think that the key place to focus on this is with your food because it's the most important aspect with what you're putting in your, in your mouth is affecting the planet, the planet at large. So I would share with you that, you know, I share a little bit of your pain, although I know without a doubt with, with complete resolve that our food, the quality of the food that is in our home is the number one most important expense in our life. So we spend a lot on food and I feel really good about it. And, you know, I had some friends over a couple of weeks ago and, you know, one of

• 58:22Speaker 00

  them said to me, "Well, isn't this kind of eating really expensive?" And sort of just spontaneously out of my mouth came, "It's not as, as expensive as cancer." And everybody kind of stopped. They were like, "Whoa." They were like, "You should, you know, write that. That should be a blog post or something." And I didn't mean to say it, so I didn't have any energy behind it, but it just came out of my mouth and, and that is really the truth. That's, and it doesn't have to be cancer, but the point is, is that it is the most important thing you could be spending money on. So I don't think you should feel badly about making sure that you have the best ingredients that you can find at the most, you know, the best prices that you can find, of course.

• 59:03Speaker 00

  Be mindful, buy online, you know, buy local, you know, go to Trader Joe's, get a, a subscription to Thrive Market, you know?

• 59:13Rich Roll?

  Yeah, Thrive Market is a great, that's a great cost savings right there. I mean, Thrive Market is basically an online Whole Foods that our friend Ganar started. I think it's ThriveMarket.com. And we're, we're actually offering free memberships and discount codes with the preorder campaign for our book. When you preorder our book, you get, you get a free membership. And essentially, they have so many of the products that you would ordinarily buy at Whole Foods, but at like, something like 20 to 40% cheaper. And of course, it gets shipped to you, right? But that's a great way right there to start exploring increasing the nutritional quality of your foods without breaking your bank or trying to do it more on, in a, in a budget conscious way.

• 59:53Speaker 00

  Right. So you can do that or you can, you know, buy in bulk, you know, through Amazon or... You know, I have a bunch of mason jars in my pantry and, you know, just get your-

• 1:00:04Rich Roll?

  Nuts.com.

• 1:00:05Speaker 00

  Nuts.com, like get your, you know, get yourself established with the foundation that you need and then fill in with the farmer's market as you go. And then with the other stuff, I would say, yeah, it's a, it's a, we're all, we all have a footprint, so we all have to keep looking at our lives. How can we change that footprint? Then maybe the focus goes to your cleaning products. Like, what are you using in your house? You know, what, what, what chemicals are you using in your house that are there? So you can move, you know, to a little bit different awareness there.

• 1:00:37Rich Roll?

  Shampoo, toothpaste, laundry detergent, soap detergent.

• 1:00:41Speaker 00

  Cleaners, right. All that kind of stuff that's around your house. And then, you know, start looking at your clothes, where, you know, where your clothes made. You know, I think the one place that a lot of vegans are very challenged is with, you know, leather products with shoes. You know, they're just because it's, there's a limited, there is not as many, you know, resources as there are for other things. But what I would tell you, the other thing that I do a lot is I shop vintage. I buy vintage clothes and shoes so that at least, you know, it's not causing new, new harm. You know, it's all, the harm's already there and I can use it and repurpose it. So I'm a big advocate of shopping in vintage stores, using, you know, things that have already been used.

• 1:01:22Speaker 00

  And then I would say, though, that it sounds to me like you're having a little bit of a struggle, which is creating a little bit of, you know, violence in your, within your own being. And what I mean, this is like resistance, like unease, like you feel uneasy about everything that you're doing. And you certainly do not want to live your life like that. So you have to get to a place where you make the best decision that you can in the moment and then you let it go. You know, it's not, you're not going to be perfect. You're not going to get the list and be right to the letter down the line. So it's going to be, you know, a process. So allow yourself the process and focus on the things that you did that made a difference.

• 1:02:06Speaker 00

  And don't focus on the things that, you know, aren't, that aren't in the lifestyle.

• 1:02:10Rich Roll?

  Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think that's, that's wise. Good. All right, let's do one more. This one is from Alex Buehl. And Alex asks, let's see.

• 1:02:28Rich Roll?

  I have been noticing something interesting lately. Whenever I eat some meals, my stomach has been saying, "Stop, you're full," before I would normally be full. This person is embarking on the plant-based way of eating. Have you guys run into this? The problem is, I feel as though I should be eating more, but my body is saying, "No." I can't decide if this is my body's response to adequate nutrient uptake or to an adverse reaction to a certain food. It's so funny and ironic, because most people are looking to... they would just love to be full, eating something healthy, but they're like, "I can't get full doing that, so I eat lousy foods." And then, suddenly, this person is eating healthy and is freaking out because it's making

• 1:03:12Rich Roll?

  Alex full, and that's disconcerting. I would say it's doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing. I mean, I think that... Look, without knowing specifics about you and what you were doing before, I can't make some kind of crazy medical diagnosis. But I would say, I would imagine, that what is happening is, you have increased the nutrient density in your food, which means that the foods you are eating are much higher in micronutrients and phytonutrients and minerals and vitamins and all of those sorts of things. And those are the things that your body really needs. When you're eating the standard American diet, you're eating a very high-calorie diet, but you're not eating a very nutrient-dense diet, right? So, you can get fat while also starving yourself, because your body really needs those nutrients in order to function properly.

• 1:03:55Rich Roll?

  So now, you're giving your body that, and the body's saying, "Thank you. I don't need anymore. I have what I need." And that is alarming. You know? I think the other thing, too, is volumetrics. And this is what Chef AJ talks about all the time, which is, if you eat a tablespoon of oil, that has a certain number of calories, and you're not going to be full. And the equal amount of calories in vegetables would fill your entire stomach and make you full, right? So, when you're eating plant-based foods, there's so much fiber and all of that, and it tends to fill you up. And it will be lower in calories, but higher in nutritional quality. And I think that that is a good path to be on.

• 1:04:36Speaker 00

  And I have one thing to add. I think that... It is immensely powerful that you are getting a message from your body and that you can hear it. So that right there is a huge, huge, huge evolution. I would say, listen to your body always and do not listen to your mind. So your body is telling you that it's full and then your mind is coming back like, wait, something might be wrong. Just listen to your body. Your body knows. Your body will guide you into eating and living the way that is right for you.

• 1:05:13Rich Roll?

  Hmm. I think that's a nice place to end it for today.

• 1:05:17Speaker 00

  Okay. Thanks for, yeah, beautiful.

• 1:05:20Rich Roll?

  Anything else you want to say? Did we do it?

• 1:05:22Speaker 00

  I think we did it.

• 1:05:23Rich Roll?

  Cool. Well, thanks for taking this little journey with us today, everybody. That was awesome. We're going to be doing, we're doing another one of these next week.

• 1:05:34Speaker 00

  That's all right. I'll be back.

• 1:05:35Rich Roll?

  She'll be back next week. So keep sending us your Q and A questions. Send them to [email protected] and we'll see you back here with Julie next week. For all the information, education products, tools, resources, and inspiration you need to take your health, wellness, fitness, and self-actualization to the next level, where do you think you go for that?

• 1:05:55Speaker 00

  Ritual.com.

• 1:05:57Rich Roll?

  There you go. Garments, products, nutritional products, educational products. And also, if you're into online courses, go to mindbodygreen.com. We've got two up there. The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition, which Julie and I did together. It's about three and a half hours of streaming video content, broken into five to 10-minute chunks, takes you through everything you need to know to get more plant-powered. But if you want the recipes, you've got to get the plant-powered way. And then I have a course called The Art of Living with Purpose, which is basically about goal-setting, about the internal work required to unlock your best self. That's about, I think it's about two and a half hours of streaming video on that one. There's an online community. It's all pretty cool

• 1:06:38Rich Roll?

  stuff. So check that out at mindbodygreen.com. If you're digging the podcast, take a minute to give us a review on iTunes. Pick up the free app to listen to episodes older than the most recent 50. And keep telling your friends. Keep using the Amazon banner at ritual.com. Keep Instagramming. And we will see you back here pretty soon. You want to take us out?

• 1:06:58Speaker 00

  Peace. Plants.

• 1:07:02Rich Roll?

  You were like laughing when you did that. Peace. What?

• 1:07:06Speaker 00

  No, you're supposed to say namaste.

• 1:07:07Rich Roll?

  Oh, I am? Oh, now I do that?

• 1:07:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:07:10Rich Roll?

  Should we do it again?

• 1:07:11Speaker 00

  Okay, we'll try. Ready?

• 1:07:12Rich Roll?

  Ready, go.

• 1:07:13Speaker 00

  Peace. Plants.

• 1:07:15Rich Roll?

  Namaste.

• 1:07:21Speaker 02

  It's been a long, hard road down the line.

• 1:07:31Speaker 02

  I've lost the truest part of who I am.

• 1:07:43Speaker 02

  How much can one man take? Nothing seems to stick. I've got to find my way to be the man for you.

• 1:08:05Speaker 02

  You, who in the sun, in the morning. You are more than you know.

• 1:08:33Speaker 02

  Be still, my love.

• 1:08:38Speaker 02

  I believe in you.

• 1:08:43Speaker 02

  Your heart will find a way to bring you home.

• 1:08:56Speaker 02

  Have faith, my love. I know it's hard.

• 1:09:06Speaker 02

  But the truth of who you are cannot be torn from you.

• 1:09:19Speaker 02

  You, who in the sun.

• 1:09:29Speaker 02

  In the morning You are more than you know You In the sun In the morning You are more than you know Than you know

• 1:10:08Speaker 02

  Sometimes you gotta lay it down to get inside

• 1:10:19Speaker 02

  Even when it's coming down the way Still knows the way

• 1:10:32Speaker 02

  Fly Daddy fly Daddy fly

• 1:10:54Speaker 02

  You In the sun In the morning You are more than you know You In the sun In the morning You are more, so much more than you know