Keep On Cookin'
Keep On Cookin' is the podcast for anyone that loves cookbooks! This podcast celebrates plant powered cookbooks and the authors who write them featuring interviews with the authors. Each episode empowers home cooks to get in their kitchens and Keep On Cookin’ with a behind the scenes look at how some of the most popular vegan cookbooks have come to life. Keep On Cookin' is hosted by Dustin Harder, the creator of the original vegan travel culinary series, The Vegan Roadie. Dustin is a chef, consultant, and cooking instructor. Aside from his personal obsession with vegan cookbooks, he is the author of the award winning cookbook Epic Vegan Quick and Easy, Epic Vegan, The Simply Vegan Cookbook, and developed recipes for Dr. Neal Barnards The Power Foods Diet. He currently serves as the Culinary Specialist for The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Keep On Cookin'
103 - The Simple Vegan Kitchen with Lauren Mcneill
The Simple & Plant-Based Way Nothing beats a homemade meal that comes together easily with pantry ingredients, fuels your body and tastes amazing! Registered dietitian and creator of Tasting to Thrive Lauren McNeill knows that nutritionally balanced food sustains daily wellness long-term only when it’s yummy enough to eat every day. Lauren prioritizes flavor in her recipes without sacrificing a proper mix of plant-based protein, carbohydrates and fats alongside key nutrients like iron, calcium and omega-3. A few of her delectable vegan dishes include:
One-Pan Mushroom Gnocchi
Herby Lentil “Meatballs” & Garlic Bread
Peanut-Miso Tofu Noodle Bowl
Barbecue Chickpea Wraps
Edamame Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
Carrot Cake Overnight Oats White Bean, Balsamic & Rosemary Dip
Lemon-Coconut Energy Balls
With her evidence-based, balanced plate approach to eating, Lauren will guide you each step of the way in preparing varied, nourishing dishes while building a lifelong healthy relationship with food. Plus, with a 30-day sample meal plan and gorgeous full page photography with every recipe, this cookbook will quickly become your daily source of inspiration for simple, delicious and satisfying plant-based eating.
BUY THE BOOK: https://amzn.to/3XjSDGc
Lauren Mcneill: tastingtothrive.com
IG: @tastingtothrive_rd
Dustin Harder: dustinharder.com
IG: @thedustinharder
David Rossetti: https://www.davidrossetti.com/
IG: @drossetti
This is Keep On Cookin', a podcast for people who love cookbooks and want to know more about the authors. It's also a great place to get a weekly dose of culinary inspiration to keep things pumping in the kitchen. So grab a cookbook is Keep On Cookin'. Hello and welcome to Keep On Cookin', the only podcast dedicated to plant-based cookbooks. I'm your host, Dustin Harder, and he's an aspiring Delta Sky Lounge member. It's my husband in Galabout Town, David Rossetti. How you doing, dear.
Speaker 2:I'm good, I'm in Galabout Town, galabout.
Speaker 1:Town trying to get in that.
Speaker 2:Delta Sky Lounge. Exactly. If only and I'm a gal about a new town- you are a gal about a new town.
Speaker 1:Y'all we did it. We're in Chicago. We are here. We are in Chicago.
Speaker 2:We didn't totally move to another place in Atlanta. We are in a whole new city, whole new place.
Speaker 1:Thanks for your patience as we got ourselves together. We took a little spring summer break so we could get ourselves together and get set up in our new home. If you're watching it behind us, you can actually see all of the keep on cooking. It's the keep on cooking podcast library, essentially. Um, I think we have been collecting for years and years, and years, and I think we said uh previously, when we were getting ready to move, that I had, we had both cleared out of so many things and when I looked at the cookbook collection, I was like, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:And you were like, no, no, we need to keep those. And I was like I think you're right and I'm so glad you, um, were a champion for that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you I scored the internet, scoured the internet for a bookshelf that had enough shelves you did you're so amazing? The bookshelf behind me.
Speaker 1:You put it up also. I will say I did get rid of a few cookbooks yeah. I tried. I was like well, let me go through. I think.
Speaker 2:I got rid of 10.
Speaker 1:Oh, which reminds me I just got some new ones and I need to remember I started an Excel sheet with all of them on there now, so I need to add those to that. I almost turned around and grabbed the new ones now. So I don't forget. But anyways we are here in Chicago.
Speaker 3:We did it.
Speaker 1:We're in our new home. We love it. We're in the Andersonville neighborhood and our address is For any large packages and gifts, or if you're just going to pop on by for dinner. I guess Just putting our address right out there, that's true. But we've had a busy summer. It's been wild. You've been managing a lot of events for the Physicians Committee, correct, correct. Managing a lot of events for the Physicians Committee, correct, correct. A lot of stuff going on there with the Power Foods Diet.
Speaker 2:Book yes, the Power Foods Diet Book is out.
Speaker 1:Yep, and that's been getting around. And then I went to New York and I helped Chloe Coscarelli open her new restaurant. So if you're in New York, make sure you get to.
Speaker 2:Chloe on.
Speaker 1:Bleecker Friend of the pod. Friend of the pod. The food's fabulous as usual, and I had a great time being there for a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2:She's a powerhouse.
Speaker 1:Powerhouse, powerhouse, and got that back in the original location y'all. So go check it out. On Bleeker, and you've been busy doing you've been booked and blessed.
Speaker 2:I've been booked and blessed. I've booked two commercials. One I was not able to film because it was in Tel Aviv, and that was complicated. But another I booked film because it was in tel aviv and that was, uh, complicated, um but another uh, I booked uh and filmed in cleveland ohio, which was super fun and so stretching those muscles and you know, we're just kind of like diving into seeing theater here.
Speaker 1:We just saw noises off at steppenwolf and yes it's a play that's a little long for me, but I still like it because it's 3x, it's 3x, it's 3x, but it's funny, I still like it. Um, what else do we see this summer? I feel like we saw six again.
Speaker 2:We saw six again we saw death becomes her twice, which, if you are in new york y'all, it's opening in october and do not, do not delay. Do not run to that box office. Do not delay. Can't be gay time we're gonna miss it.
Speaker 1:So we're gonna be in new york for a week doing some work with the physicians committee. By the way, if you're in new york, october 5th, david, what are the?
Speaker 2:details. Tell people to come see us october 5th at 2 pm. Um up at symphony space, um kind of their smaller little theater, leonard niebuhr hall um dr barnard uh will be there talking about his power foods book, as well as this guy next to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm going to talk about all the recipes.
Speaker 2:And then we'll also have Chuck Carroll of the Exam Room Podcast, and Dr Rob Ostfeld has just joined us as part of the program, and then Plant Powered Metro, new York. Miss Liana and her amazing group there is also going to be there to kind of share some new classes that they're going to be offering for us.
Speaker 1:And then my sweet angel Taryn Clayton of Soj Foods is going to be catering the event. She's based in New Jersey, but coming over to New York to help us out catering the event. Taryn Clayton, soj Foods Check her out S-O-J Foods on Instagram. Love, love, love her, and I'm glad she's going to be doing this. It's going to be fabulous, wonderful, so come see us on October 5th in New York City, if you get the chance and you've been booking commercials Y'all. I've gotten back into singing.
Speaker 2:That's right, because.
Speaker 1:I love to sing, but the cool part this time around is I'm just kind of doing it for myself. I have no, you know, as a uh, uh young man in the musical theater world, I was like, well, I've got to pick this song, it's gonna be my book, it's gonna book the job, it's gonna pay my rent. And now I'm just kind of like I'm gonna sing whatever the heck I want. I found a wonderful gentleman here in, uh, chicago by the name of name of alex newkirk. If you're in chicago, he does lots of different things. You can come see him play and sing, but, um, he lives a few blocks away and we get together, go through some tunes. It's lovely. So, yeah, we are rocking and rolling here in Chicago. But back to Keep On Cooking. We've got something very exciting coming up that I want to share with you Next week. So this is the 17th Next week, on September 24th, I believe, if I'm not getting my dates wrong here Keep on Cooking is having a little baby. Oh, that's right, yeah.
Speaker 1:So Keep on Cooking is finally going to have a recipe blog. This is very exciting. It's going to feature, of course, tons of recipes from myself, so we're finally putting all of my recipes in a spot that are accessible to everyone. For years, there was like a vegan roadie Tumblr. There's been an ebook, there's been cookbooks. There's been lots of recipes posted to Instagram just in the comments Just Tumblr, tumblr, tumblr. You can still find it. If you look up vegan roadie Tumblr, you're going to find some old busted recipes. The recipes are good, actually, but the photos are like like bless um, way before I even attempted like actual food photography.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So, um, now we're going to put it all in one place for you and it's going to have everything. It's going to have the healthy food that you're looking for, and it's going to have the decadent stuff, because y'all you know, that's how I do, I'm not one or the other, I'm all the things and I'm finding my balance in life and it's going to share all of those things with you. Plus, it's going to share recipes from the books that we talk about on the Keep on Cooking podcast, which is the most exciting part of it. So usually and I'm sure we've talked about it on this podcast before when an author releases a book, they've got a press kit that goes with it, and usually there's about like four, six, eight recipes or so in it that they're allowed to share with the masses. So they can post it on Instagram, they can post it on their own blog, they can do post it on other people's blogs, and that's all in an effort to promote the book or let audiences get a taste of a recipe before they buy a book.
Speaker 1:So we're digging back into the old episodes we're trying to find, you know, contact those authors and say, hey, do you want us to post anything, we're happy to so that y'all can get a taste of those recipes. But as we move forward, we're going to be working with the authors and their press kits to hopefully put more recipes on the blog for you to try. We've got a recipe from Lauren McNeil that's going to be up on the blog. It is the Miso Dijon Glazed Tempeh Bowl, so you'll be able to find that Lauren McNeil is who we're talking about today. Let's get into our first episode back, as Keep On Cooking returns to the land of the living. I'm really excited about this author and this book. She's so lovely. Her outlook on food is one that I can get on board with. Lauren McNeil is a plant-based registered dietitian and creator of Tasting to Thrive.
Speaker 2:Lauren holds a master's of public health in nutrition, with a specialized in women's health. Through her social media platforms, lauren shares easy and approachable plant-based recipes that are nourishing while still being delicious.
Speaker 1:Speaking of I just mentioned, we've got that great, great blog coming out. It's going to be keep on cookingcom, so I didn't really mention that before.
Speaker 2:Keep on cooking yeah, no g, no g.
Speaker 1:We all know, that's the name of the public. You got to keep on cooking, not keep on cooking, you got to keep on cooking. So it's keep on cookingcom and, like I said, we're going to feature that miso Dijon glazed tempeh bowl. So be sure to check that out when the website comes out on September 24th at keeponcookingcom.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes, and that is a nice way to sample a recipe from the book before you commit to buying it. Because that's always the thing, like sure, the pictures look good, but like, can I just try one, just so you can kind of get used to that. But like, can I just try one, um, just so you can kind of get uh used to that. So, um, of course, you can always check out her website for yummy stuff uh from her, uh, in addition to recipes from the book.
Speaker 1:Or again, like, as we said, to keep on cookingcom also on that note of trying recipes, I just had kadri nelson on uh. We did an interview and she wrote the latest uh version of edition of living vegan for dummies and she brought. She has so many great points in it. But one is going to the library to check out a cookbook and sample it before you buy it. So you know you can go. There's so many places to like try recipes before actually committing to a cookbook these days, um. So that's another just great tip go to the library, see if they have the one you're interested in, check it out.
Speaker 1:But now let's get back to Laura McNeil. In addition to all of the wonderful materials that she has to offer online at TastingToThrivecom, she provides one-on-one nutrition counseling services virtually through her private practice and has created online programs to help people thrive on a plant-based diet. Now here she is to share all of the ins and outs about this fabulous book, and I got to say I really love this book. There's a lasagna soup in here that I love, do you remember it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember it.
Speaker 1:I'm like every time I pick up this book I'm like, oh my gosh, I need to make that soup immediately. So fabulous book, love it. The Simple Vegan Kitchen, nutritionally Balanced, easy and Delicious Plant-Based Meals for Daily Wellness. Here she is. It's Lauren McNeil. She's committed to helping us create delicious dishes that are satisfying and also fuel our bodies. It's registered dietitian and creator of Tasting to Thrive. Lauren McNeil, thank you for being here.
Speaker 3:Hi, dustin, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's great to see you. We're going to dive right into your icebreaker. So what is or do you have a go-to karaoke song? And if you're not the karaoke type, what's a favorite song to belt in the car, in the shower or while you're cooking, or something of that nature.
Speaker 3:Oh, I love karaoke. I think, since You've Been Gone by, kelly Clarkson is probably my best one.
Speaker 1:I'm writing it down, listeners, if you can't see it, I've been making a little list because I used to be scared of karaoke. Now I'm like I'm ready to dive into this.
Speaker 3:No, it's so much fun. But if they don't have that, I mean I can rely on anything Taylor Swift I'm a huge Swiftie, so that's an easy one. That's an easy one for me.
Speaker 1:Have you seen the Eras tour live in person? I?
Speaker 3:I haven't, but I will be going in toronto in november, so I'm excited about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah all right when we're off mic, I'm going to ask you how much your tickets were. So be prepared for the off mic question. I'm so curious and zero judgment I saw the 1989 tour and I'm so grateful I did because I feel like that was right at the time when, like you know, my ticket was expensive but not and it's not Taylor Swift, it's just bananas like the world, and concerts and scalpers and you know, online resale and all that is just out of control.
Speaker 3:It's so wild and I think so. I'm Canadian and Canada and um, there weren't that many options for dates, so it was wild. It was bananas having to get tickets, so I feel very lucky, um, but yeah, the price tag was definitely a shock, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:We're going to chat more about this, because I told you before, we got on a move to Chicago and she's got a show still, because this tour seems to also be the tour that's running forever. Um, in the fall of 24, she's got a show in indianapolis, which would not be too far away, and I'm still I still get on and look for a ticket. I'm like I'm not giving up. I'm like I'm not giving up on this you know what I?
Speaker 3:it's a once in a lifetime in my opinion, so I think you should do it did you go to the amc taylor swift uh?
Speaker 1:no, no, I didn't um, but I wish I mean, you don't have to, you're going live and in person.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I went to amc because I was like I think I'm not going to catch this live and in person, so I need to, yeah, but anyways, it was a good time. You'll have to have an even better time. It'll be fantastic. My karaoke song have you ever seen the movie? Grease too, of course, of course, oh, oh, oh. Hug from across the miles here. Um well, I was obsessed with that movie when I was a kid and I went somewhere where someone was doing karaoke and cool rider was in the book. And now I'm like that is my official, always and forever karaoke song.
Speaker 1:If they have it obviously, but like I felt wonderful about life when I was up there singing that. So Cool Rider from Grease 2 is my jam forever and always.
Speaker 3:Why did you write that down?
Speaker 1:Well, I appreciate the since you've been gone nod, because I've been in the car with my husband even I don't know. It was like two weeks ago. Someone was talking about karaoke and I was like David, we've got to find duets to do. We've got to find like we got to pick up some like eighties, like rock songs and like harmonize a little we got. This is why karaoke has been a bad situation for me, because I get very serious about it, which is a downfall. I'm aware. I'm aware I'm not, I'm taking the fun out of it. Essentially, he's like or we could just get up and sing it. I'm like, or you could sing the harmonies.
Speaker 3:It has to be a full performance. When you're up there, you have to entertain.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, you're with me, all right. Well, lauren, in this book, the Simple Vegan Kitchen, you lean on your experience to give us an evidence-based, balanced plate approach to eating. You guide the home cook each step of the way in preparing varied, nourishing dishes, while building a lifelong healthy relationship with food which we're on board with here at Keep On Cooking. How did working in food start for you, and when did it become a vegan venture?
Speaker 3:Such a good question. So I became vegetarian when I was 17 and that was before you know wanting to become a dietitian. I didn't even know what a dietitian was, but when I started university I thought maybe I would go into medicine or something like that. So I kind of pursued just a general sciences degree and absolutely hated it. I felt like I had no direction in terms of what the outcome was going to be or anything like that.
Speaker 3:And then I kind of discovered dietetics and then that was a field and at that point, being vegetarian and having made that choice for myself, I was always kind of interested in food and health but just didn't really know that that was a path that I could pursue.
Speaker 3:So once I figured that out, it was kind of just a straight line for me from there. So I did university to get the accredited degree, had to do a one-year internship to become a dietician and kind of along. That way was when I really discovered that going vegan was probably a little bit more aligned with what I wanted in terms of the ethical reasons for being vegan versus vegetarian and that type of thing. And so it was a really slow journey for me, but along the way, naturally becoming vegan, you have to learn how to cook a lot for yourself, especially at that time. So that was when I really kind of dove into cooking and, you know, learning different recipes, getting more familiar in the kitchen, and kind of decided to share about that journey online, which is where you know I started Tasting to my Instagram and my blog and my other social media channels and it kind of just took off from there.
Speaker 1:I love it. That's great. What when you look at? Um? Well, he's saying it started for ethical reasons I don't usually dive into this much on here, but I'm. It's when you got, when you discovered then the health connection. Because what I love about your Instagram is that it really is you're. You're talking about feeling satisfied, so we're talking about health benefits, but also like how can you have the health benefits while also being satisfied? So it's interesting to get into it for ethical reasons. I mean, I got into it for vanity. First I was like, oh, I can manage my weight maybe a little bit this way. You know, I was an actor at the time. It made sense to me and now it's become all the things right and so I'm curious. Then, when you discovered the health part of it, was it just like a light bulb then and you were like, oh, all of this comes together.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly. So you know, I always say to people it's kind of three main reasons that people typically want to go vegan.
Speaker 1:So it's either health reasons or maybe vanity reasons no-transcript seem to look recent on the you know Instagram algorithm. You never know, but you're talking about sugar a lot recently. You with uh sugar institute in canada. Is that right? And so to have a dietician, sort of just like spelling some ins and outs about sugar, I think is very, um, just comforting to see almost you know that there's a dietician that's talking about it and using it. Instead of saying get rid of it completely, you're you're saying here's some variations and ways to use it and you're talking about it, as opposed to treating it like, you know, the ugly stepchild or something you know, yeah, yeah, and I'm so happy that that's kind of what you gather as well from the messaging, because that is completely my intent.
Speaker 3:I think there's a lot of black and white thinking in terms of nutrition and everyone kind of thinks that they're a nutrition expert and number two, it can be a very kind of all or nothing, isolating kind of environment, and so when you know I was approached in terms of a partnership, I think some people would think, oh, like a dietician promoting sugar, is that you know right?
Speaker 3:Is that ethical? For me it was. This isn't about promoting sugar. This is about recognizing that we're all human beings, we're all going to want to eat sugar and how can we do this in a way that is really balanced and making sure that if we are, you know, having a cookie or a piece of cake or something, how can we make that you know an appropriate serving size and something that you can have and enjoy and then move on with the rest of your day, versus eating the entire cake because it's there? So that was something that was really important to me and then, as well as, like other myth, busting things around it. So I'm really happy that that's what you kind of gathered from that messaging too.
Speaker 1:Yes, everyone, she talks about the bone char, the processing with bone char on there. Hot topic hot topic always. Which is interesting to find out on your Instagram. In Canada, sugar is not processed with the bone char.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, it's not, and that was something that I wasn't even really privy to when I first became vegan that that was something to even think about. So when that kind of came across my desk, I was like wow, this is interesting, it's something that I should definitely be talking more about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I love that you do and everyone go follow it's called Tasting to Thrive, if you don't follow already for lots of great information and, I think, most importantly for me at least, how to create balance and be satisfied, which is what I really, really love about the account. And speaking back to cooking and we're talking about cookbooks and how you got into food was there a vegan cookbook when you went full vegan? Is there a first vegan cookbook you had that you loved and cooked from a lot?
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. I mean Oshie Glows was, it was and is an icon at the time. So that was definitely my first cookbook that I that I got and actually really cooked from, kind of back I think. Before I wasn't really making recipes in the same kind of way. It was like throwing things together and so that really showed me you can make vegan food and you can make it taste really good. So that was kind of my holy grail at the time, absolutely.
Speaker 1:That makes sense. That makes sense. Oh, she glows. People love to glow, that's good. So that's oh she Glows, by Angela Lyddon. Is that correct?
Speaker 3:Yes, and she is Canadian.
Speaker 1:And, of course, everyone can follow. Oh, she Glows Well. You open up this book, the Simple Vegan Kitchen, talking about plant-based nutrition for balanced everyday eating, covering the macronutrients protein, carbohydrates and fat and then our micronutrients with B12, iron, calcium, iodine, selenium, zinc and vitamin D. You talk about a balanced plate approach and even intuitive eating, but you close the intro out with a section on enjoying your food, and I think these are all very important categories. Before we jump into the mouthwatering recipes in here, I have to say I had the carrot cake overnight oats yesterday and I have another one in there that I can't wait to have. But before we jump into the recipes, I was hoping you'd elaborate on the section about enjoying your food. It sounds simple enough, but what does it really look like to have a balanced diet and enjoy your food?
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh, my gosh. This is something that I actually spend a lot of time talking about whether it's with clients or people who are in my DMs about nutrition, because I think a lot of the times we think of two kind of main factors when it comes to eating so what are you eating and how much are you eating? The what you're eating oftentimes, if we have health goals or, you know, just want to feel our best, is a lot of the times really focused on, like healthy eating. So making sure that we're eating, you know, really nutrient rich foods, and then how much we're eating really nutrient rich foods, and then how much we're eating, comes into play with that as well.
Speaker 3:But the piece that I find people don't typically focus on enough is do you actually enjoy what you're eating? Because you could be eating the most beautiful balanced salad, but if you hate that salad, you're still going to want something else afterwards, even if you physically feel full, and that's where a lot of like the cravings and late night eating and that type of thing really come into play. So my focus is really, if you're going to eat something, there has to be at least one aspect of that thing that you really love. So if you are going to make a salad, make sure that you absolutely love the dressing that you're putting on the salad, or make sure that you're adding some crunch to it so there's some different textures. Use salt or a little bit of sugar to make it actually taste good so that you like it and you can once again kind of move on with your day and not be constantly thinking about food.
Speaker 1:Yes, I mean, that is really just such a great tip. I don't think it's just said so well, it's so simple, right? Like make sure there's something about it you enjoy, like that that is, I think, I think would save a lot of people from a lot of distress when they're trying to, you know, maintain certain goals with their food and everything, because enjoyment it's fuel, but also, like you should enjoy it, it's something you have to do, like you have to eat to survive.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think when people are trying to eat healthier or more nutritious, whatever you want to call it, a lot of the time we're really focused on what they're taking away from what they're eating. I even see this in people wanting to go vegan. But if we focus more on what we can add to our plate to make it more balanced, but also make sure that you're actually enjoying that food, you're going to end off feeling ending that meal feeling really good and like you ate something that was delicious but also healthy, and adding those things, those components that you really enjoy, doesn't take away from the really nutritious part of what you're eating as well. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1:Focusing on the things that you can have. I feel like I'm big on that too. You have to. There's especially for people trying a plant-based diet for the first time. They're like, but I can't have, and I'm like, but there's so much you can have, there's so much you can have. So, focusing on the things that you can have and I hate to tangent again, but I'm curious I saw something on your. I'm just literally it's like little bullet points in my head of like all the great tips that you have right, because it really is that good of an Instagram, what you said something recently about one where, if you feel you're somebody who needs, you need like a little something after dinner. Still, what? What am I talking about? First of all, but what is the? What is the tip to that too? Yeah, yeah, so I know exactly what you're talking about First of all, but what is the? What is the tip to that too?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. So I know exactly what you're talking about. And, um, that's where I really go into talking about the three components that we need to feel full. So the first component that we need to feel full is getting a good balance of food. So that's going to be looking at your macronutrients, so protein, carbs and fat. And then the second point is going to be making sure you're eating enough volume of food. So, even if you have a good macronutrient breakdown of, again, protein, carbs, fat and actually, technically, fiber isn't a macronutrient, but I like to kind of add it in there too because it's really important, we're all for the fiber, yeah, but I like to kind of add it in there too because it's really important, we're all for the fiber, yeah Right. So making sure that you're eating enough volume of food to really feel full. But then that third point is making sure that you're adding something to that meal to feel enjoyment.
Speaker 3:So if you're someone who again, like, has a salad and feels like 30 minutes later you're still hungry, are you adding protein to that salad? Are you adding fiber? Is there a carbohydrate in there? Is there, you know, a nice healthy fat in that salad as well? How big is that salad.
Speaker 3:If you're eating like a really like small soup size bowl of salad, that's not going to leave anyone feeling full, but if you're having a really nice big volume salad, that's going to do a lot better. And then you know, if you're someone that knows that traditionally you can't eat a salad and feel satisfied from it, can you add something else to the side of it? Can you have like a piece of toast with avocado on the side so that you actually enjoy that salad and that eating experience, to not feel hungry or like what I like to call snacky 30 minutes later, where you feel like you just kind of need something. And for some people what works is adding something to that meal that they know they're going to want later. So, for example, like let's say you're having lunch and you know you're always kind of snacky after lunch, can you have like a chocolate chip cookie intentionally with your lunch and add that in so that you're not craving it more later on. So that's what I'm kind of getting out with that Instagram reel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean, I was asking about being snacky for a friend, obviously.
Speaker 2:Of course.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do find after lunch I'm always like I want a snack now. But I feel it's funny. You said that about salad too, when I make salad for last night we had lasagna and then a big salad and I brought it to the table I make these huge salads for myself and my husband's like what are you doing? And I'm like I need, I want this, I want all of these vegetables. Is the thing? He's more of a side salad type guy. I'm getting them there a little bit by little bit. Make the bowl bigger. You know. Well, let's dive into this book here and take a look at these recipes. You open with hearty mains. For someone just picking up this book, what is a hearty main you would suggest they make first?
Speaker 3:Oh, there's so many good ones. I can't remember if this is in the hearty main section of the book, but there is a one pot gnocchi recipe that's like a mushroom.
Speaker 1:One pan mushroom gnocchi. Is that the one?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was it and that is really delicious because that takes something that I think a lot of the time people don't necessarily feel that like full satisfaction factor from which is pasta, or maybe they feel hungry again 30 minutes later and we really add volume to it through mushrooms and kale and then also beans to add a really good amount of fiber to it as well, to make it a really well-balanced meal. And it's a one pan meal and it's super easy, which I think is perfect for most people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it looks like you've got some other one pans in here too. I see a lemon dill potato sheet pan meal, which already I'm in lemon dill potato. Come on on, we got a warming vegetable and chickpea curry creamy garlic, lemon pasta, miso, ginger tofu stir fry, sun-dried tomato and brussel sprouts pasta, apple dill chickpea mash 15 minutes, sun-dried tomatoes and white beans.
Speaker 3:so I feel like as well and please correct me if I'm wrong, because we're only the first chapter these all feel like pretty like quick and easy recipes that we're looking at too yeah, that was my main goal, because what I found with some of the vegan cookbooks that were out there which are, you know, all amazing but what I really wanted to focus on was what's realistic, like, what are people actually going to cook at the end of a really busy work day? Because I know for me there's no way I'm making an hour meal at the end of a work day, maybe on the weekend if I'm feeling like I want to spend some time in the kitchen.
Speaker 1:They all serve their purpose, these recipes.
Speaker 3:Totally, but I really wanted this to be approachable really balanced recipes that people knew that they could go to and be able to find something that they like the taste of but they could make really quickly for them or their family and feel good about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. It's so funny you say that about that. You know, my second book is called Epic Vegan and it's all about putting different recipes together to create these big, over the top wild creations. Right, and I'm very clear about that in the description. I'm like this is a get in the kitchen with your friends on a Saturday and put together some wild, crazy things. Meanwhile, the first three chapters of the book are the like foundational recipes, so those can be like weeknight meals essentially. But and without fail, I still years later get somebody who's like I bought this and the recipes are not quick. But then I came out with the follow up, which was Epic Vegan Quick and Easy, where it's all like one pot one sheet.
Speaker 1:I'm like, if that's so, now I can say I'm like, no, I got that for you, that's the other one after that. But it's like there is a difference between you know these cookbooks, like they're geared towards exactly what you need listeners listening, it's geared towards what you need. So this book is quick and easy. Weeknight meals, or, you know, a little meal prep in here too, you've got that great meal prep section at the end, which I love, which we'll get to, uh, some more hearty mains. You've got the herby, lentil, meatballs and garlic bread. Yes, yes, yes, love seeing a dietician. Give me some garlic bread in here. How do you make your garlic bread?
Speaker 3:So I use like a vegan butter, but you could definitely use olive oil. If you were doing that, I would just make sure to add salt to it, because obviously butter has salt in it and olive oil doesn't, and I'll do that with some minced garlic or garlic powder, depending on how you want to go. Sometimes both works well. Actually, you can do chopped parsley if you want to, or dry parsley, and then I just broil it. It takes like five minutes and it's super delicious. It's like a side to honestly any soup or just on its own.
Speaker 1:I just want garlic bread now.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's a satisfying factor.
Speaker 1:Right, you get this, but we're being smart about it. We're probably having a serving of bread with our and that's where it can be a little tricky for some of us, but also like that's the balance and that's the satisfying part.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:And so for something like that, I like to tell people don't look for satisfaction from a food that is supposed to be an enjoyment food.
Speaker 3:So what I mean by that is if you come to the end of the night and you are genuinely hungry after dinner, maybe you didn't eat enough earlier in the day, maybe you know you maybe didn't get enough protein or fiber to really keep you feeling satisfied. And so you look in words and you know that it's genuine hunger that you're feeling. Opening that bag of chips, yes, it's going to be delicious, but it's not going to help that genuine hunger that you're feeling. So can you have some of those chips, but can you add, maybe like an apple and peanut butter to the side which I know is a weird combo, but just something to give you like protein and fiber to it as well. Maybe some like steamed edamame for some protein, just something that will actually satisfy the hunger and you can still have the thing that you enjoy. But realistically, like chips, chocolate, cookies aren't going to leave you feeling full in the quantities that you would probably want to be eating them in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. I'm going to mention another one in here and then we'll move on to warming soups. But barbecue chickpea wraps, everybody get into it. Well, that takes us into warming soups. So are you a soup all year round kind of person, or just in the winter?
Speaker 3:Well, I live in Canada, so soup all year round, you know, is kind of the way to go, um, but yeah, I mean I would say that soup is probably my favorite category of food. Um, I find soup recipes, for some reason for me, really easy to develop and I enjoy the taste of them so much that that was a section of the book that I was so excited to kind of dive into yeah, I, uh, I just feel like they're so hearty and satiating, easy to make, great thing to tell someone who's just getting into it, like here try these soups.
Speaker 1:You actually posted again here I go with your Instagram a lasagna soup that I need to return to because it looked so good and I want to make it, so I'm going to, probably tonight actually. Well, what's a soup of yours, a favorite soup of yours from this book, then from this chapter?
Speaker 3:Oh, so this is my favorite section.
Speaker 1:You're like how dare you make me pick a favorite child?
Speaker 3:There's a hearty vegan sausage stew that I actually had last night for dinner and every single time that I make it, both my husband and I are like this is one of my best recipes that I've ever made it just. It tastes really balanced and very hearty and I really think that if you weren't vegan, you would still love the soup. If you were looking for one that maybe didn't use like a vegan meat alternative for whatever reason, there's like a spicy black bean tortilla soup that I also think is absolutely delicious and has lots of veggies, fiber from the black beans, and it's really satisfying as well, so I love that one too.
Speaker 1:Well, speaking of lasagna soup, y'all it's in the book, so I will, and I just looked at the ingredient list. I have everything on hand. So, I will be making this tonight, today potentially when we get off this call, very excited about that. And you just said I'm sorry because I got really into reading the lasagna. I was listening but then I was like it's in here, the lasagna soup, is in here. You said the black bean soup and then you also said the hearty vegan sausage stew, right? You?
Speaker 3:got it.
Speaker 1:Yep, and I love the comment about your husband and you sitting there being like this is one of the best ones in the book, because that does happen. There's recipes I return to again and again and my husband and I are both like geez. We love this recipe and we're like we hope other people are making it too, because it's just so good.
Speaker 3:I know, I know and I feel like I can never shut up about it. I'm like I should probably talk about some of the other recipes as well, but this is a good one.
Speaker 1:No, I get it, hey, when something's good. You know, we got a lemon chickpea orzo soup and that simple lasagna soup I was just telling everyone about which y'all. Really, it is simple, looks so good. Peanut curry noodle soup yes, brothy vegetable dumpling soup, garlic-y white bean soup and homemade croutons. All right, what's the secret to the home? Look at me, go right to the bread on everything. What is the secret to your homemade croutons?
Speaker 3:I mean it's kind of the same as the garlic bread. I'll kind of give that spoiler. You're kind of going with the same vibe, You're just making it a little bit more crispy, and it's. It's so good.
Speaker 1:I love it so good. So we got, we got all the soups, we got hearty mains. Now we're moving on to balanced salads and bowls for the next chapter. For someone who might be looking to meal prep, maybe salads and bowls are a good one to that for that, because you're making sure you have a nutrient full item for yourself midday when you're busy. Perhaps Is there a salad or bowl you recommend from here for that.
Speaker 3:They're all delicious. There is a I believe it's called the peanut lime edamame crunch salad or something like that that is a mommy crunch salad with peanut dressing.
Speaker 3:Yeah that's it. That is so good. And what I love about that one in particular is because it uses cabbage as one of the base ingredients. You can meal prep that one ahead of time and toss it in the dressing and in my opinion it only kind of gets better as the days go on, because the cabbage kind of breaks down a little bit and it's really delicious. It kind of hits all the factors of being like a little bit sweet, a little bit savory, salty crunchy it's. It's really good.
Speaker 1:So many great ones in here. I love getting inspired for these things. I think salads and bowls we all sort of like in our minds. I think we kind of think, oh, I'll just get these vegetables and toss it together.
Speaker 1:But ultimately, if you have a roadmap to follow for a salad in a bowl at least I'm finding for myself, like I've been pulling lately there's a place called Love Alive Cafe. Have you ever heard of it? Or Life Alive? It's in the eastern, north, northeastern United States area and they have these beautiful bowls and I, every time I've been there, I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm obsessed with these bowls. So now I just go to their website and I'm like, well, I know the magic here. Like, take the ingredients from this thing you love and like replicate it. And that's what I've been doing. So to have a guideline like this of these beautiful bowls, we've got things uh, creamy dill, pickle salad, easy, lemon pepper tofu bowl yes, please. Beaten quinoa salad with maple vinaigrette, maple vinaigrette and beets I'm here for it. Cabbage, cucumber and pumpkin seed salad with green goddess dressing, lemon, lentil and quinoa salad. We got a taco salad y'all. Best ever taco salad.
Speaker 3:Tell me what makes it the best ever taco salad? All the different components. It's the crunchiness of the lettuce and the the nacho chips. It's the black beans. The dressing that we use is so good I could put it on everything. It's just the combination of things in the taco salad.
Speaker 1:That is amazing what's in the and I'm putting you on the spot here. So I have have the book what's in the dressing for him.
Speaker 3:I'm trying to remember, I believe here I have it.
Speaker 1:I went right to the page, so look at that.
Speaker 3:Amazing. I believe it was a mayo, like a vegan mayo.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, With lime juice and sriracha.
Speaker 3:Yes, okay, so we use that. If you didn't have vegan mayo, you could probably use tahini and get a similar outcome. Not the same, I won't say the same, but maybe similar. That would be delicious as well.
Speaker 1:All these ingredients are fantastic. We got sweet potato in here, we got tomatoes, peppers, we got the romaine you talked about some salsa in here the chips so good. And I want to give a shout out to one more before we move on to the next chapter the lemon tahini white bean caesar salad. I love a caesar, I know everyone else does, and I love this twist with lemon tahini. That's fantastic. So another one I'll have to put on my list here. I've been getting you know I tend to go. I don't know how you are, but when january, february comes, february is like birthday for me and and Valentine's. It's also my husband's birthday In January. I don't fall off the rails at all, but I tend to go, the opposite of everyone else. Where everyone else is like it's the new year, I'm like I'm going to reflect on all the good stuff I did in the last year and sort of see where that's taking me in the new year, as opposed to like hitting everything really hard.
Speaker 1:So now I'm like in March and I'm starting to like get all my you know my new vision for my meal prep on and everything, and this is helpful, seeing this. So I love seeing the lemon, tahini, white bean, caesar Cause. I think I'm gonna have to come to that. Okay, the next one you give us is simple sides. Now, I love a sides chapter because I always recommend to people when they're going to some sort of gathering especially if it's not an all vegan gathering to take a couple sides with them. I think it's a great way you know someone's hosting something you don't want to necessarily overshadow with like a main dish If they're making something. I have done it.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying I'm not saying I won't ever do it again, but I'm just saying yeah, if you bring like a couple sides, you're kind of like, oh, I have these couple things, but also you're giving yourself a little variety. So you can like have two big helpings of the sides maybe and you'll be satiated, you'll be happy and you'll wow everyone else with the sides. So is there something in this chapter you would recommend for somebody to take to a gathering that might wow the other guest?
Speaker 3:Such a good question. So the one side that I made that was maybe kind of unexpected to me, and how good it was it was I could find the exact one, but it was a pan fried broccoli with balsamic and walnuts.
Speaker 1:Pan fried, balsamic, broccoli and walnuts. You got it.
Speaker 3:Perfect. So what I loved about that is, again, you have different textures. So you have the walnuts, and something happens to nuts in general when they're just very slightly like roasted or warmed up. That just is amazing. So having that with the broccoli and the balsamic, I remember testing that recipe kind of on a whim, and I ate the entire pan in one sitting.
Speaker 1:I don't know if that's ever happened to you, I hope it has, and halfway through I'm like, I'm like, well, this is a good sign, but also like calm down.
Speaker 3:Exactly exactly. I have 10 other recipes I have to test, so I should probably relax that one was delicious and unexpected and I feel like would pair well with a lot of different things. If you were going to some sort of gathering, that is a really good one.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love it. And this is really a great chapter for elevating, making the most out of your vegetables. It looks like. So we got maple roasted carrots, curry sweet potato fries with maple dijon dipping sauce. Yes, smoky roasted cauliflower, fresh sesame, cucumber salad, garlic, roasted green beans and basil pesto potatoes. Love all of that. Excuse me, um, I was just thinking too when you said the tasting thing in culinary school, our.
Speaker 1:It was like our first week of class and we had a whole thing where we did all these recipes and then they were like okay, the instructor was like, try the recipes. So we all, like loaded our plates up and we got done. And they were like you guys need to learn the difference between tasting and eating. And that was the biggest lessons I ever got, because I was like, oh, because we all had lunch like right after that class, I remember too, and we all were like we can't eat anything and we all brought our lunch with us. We were like this is ridiculous. There is an art to tasting, you know, especially if you're, if you're tasting something and making adjustments, you want to take a little taste, make your adjustment, take another. But then we get moments like this too, where it's just too good, you can't help it.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, absolutely. And I know for me, typically I'll test a few recipes in one day just to kind of get it out of the way, and if I have too much at one point I don't even want the next recipe. But it is a fine balance, because if I go into a recipe testing day too hungry, that's a recipe for disaster too, in a different way.
Speaker 1:So it is a fun balance.
Speaker 1:I feel like we have the same approach, because I do tend to like instead of like testing one. I'm not saying I never test a one-off, but like, I'll stack a recipe testing day to where I'm like. Okay, I'm going to be in the kitchen for like 10 hours today. I'm doing, like you know, several recipes at once and you got to be ready for it. Like you're saying, you got to, you know, mind and stomach in the right place, essentially Well, the next chapter is nourishing breakfast and snacks on the go. My favorite from here is the carrot cake, overnight oats. I was going through here the other day preparing for this and I was like I need to make this immediately and I did. And I was so glad and, like I said, I've got another one in there waiting for me that I can't wait to have. But what's your favorite breakfast for you from here? Is there something that you make often?
Speaker 3:yeah, I mean the carrot cake. Overnight oats holds a special place in my heart because that one was developed, because my mom makes the best carrot cake ever she's known in our family. Like everyone asks for her carrot cake on special occasions, so not that this oatmeal. I can't say it's as good as that Of course it's oatmeal, but that one is delicious. Another one that I really love is there's a decadent chocolate raspberry chia pudding. I believe is what it's called.
Speaker 1:Yep Decadent raspberry, almond and chocolate chia pudding.
Speaker 3:Yep so that one is amazing and some people are skeptical to try chia pudding, which I completely understand. If the texture is an issue for you, that's completely understandable. What I recommend doing there is just blending it after it's done, because then it becomes more of like a true pudding, like consistency. But what I really love about chia pudding is, again, it has that balance of protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats. Especially if you make it with like soy milk, it'll have a good amount of protein in it or other kind of like a pea milk or you know, a higher protein dairy alternative is really good in that one, so I'd say that one's probably my favorite.
Speaker 1:And that's for a breakfast right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do have it for breakfast. You could have it for a snack as well.
Speaker 1:I was gonna say what's like a snack option from here that you love them?
Speaker 3:My favorite snack option is probably there. So if I'm going sweet, there's the oatmeal chocolate bars. I can't remember exactly what I called them, but those are really delicious. Chocolate oat bars Are those the ones? Yes, those are delicious. If I'm going savory, I did a roasted chickpea recipe in the book. Actually that was amazing. And I don't think roasted chickpeas I mean I know among the kind of vegan community they're very well known, but I think outside they don't get enough credit because there's so much fiber, a good amount of protein in them, and if you flavor them well they actually are good and you can make them crunchy. So they kind of hit that kind of crunchy craving as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nice, I've been doing some roasted edamame lately and I like it for the same reason. Having like a little, you know, a little bit of salt on there, a little bit of crunch, you know, sort of um it uh gives me that. Uh, if I wanted potato chips, perhaps you know not that I wouldn't need a potato chip, I certainly would. But like I don't buy a bag of potato chips and keep it in the house because I know myself, so instead I can keep, you know, some edamame snacks on hand, but I'll have I want potato chip every now and then everyone. I'm not hating on potato chips. Okay, so great options in here protein packed avocado, toast, cinnamon, low sugar granola yes, sun dried tomato and broccoli egg bites Everyday. All your, your. It says my everyday ultimate green smoothie. What's in your ultimate everyday green smoothie?
Speaker 3:getting some good carbohydrates that have fiber in them and you're getting fat. If you're someone who feels like they can't drink a smoothie and feel satisfied after, definitely recommend trying this one and incorporating those different options. So in mine I do some sort of green, either spinach or kale, just depending on what I feel like and what looks good. If you're new to green smoothies, probably do spinach just because the kale can be a lot, and then you'll get to the kale. Start with exactly, and then I do frozen strawberries banana, ideally frozen if I can and then I will do soy milk in it for some of that protein, and a seed. So typically flax seeds for the omega-3, but it could also be chia seeds or hemp seeds for that good omega-3 as well, and then oftentimes peanut butter as well, just to add a little bit more delicious flavor to the smoothie as well.
Speaker 1:I love it. We have almost the same everyday smoothie.
Speaker 2:We're smoothie twins.
Speaker 1:That's great. We got simple cinnamon blender pancakes. One pan breakfast hash. There again with a wonderful one pan recipe white bean, balsamic and rosemary dip, smoky chipotle hummus super simple lentil bruschetta dip, and sweet and spicy edamame. Yes, yes, yes, uh, herbie, roasted chickpeas got the roasted chickpeas. Got the roasted chickpeas. Peanut butter, chocolate, medjool dirts yes, I love a peanut butter chocolate medjool day. Lemon, coconut energy balls and cranberry, apple walnut muffins. So many great things and nourishing breakfast and snacks on the go. And you finish this book out with a four-week meal plan. It's laid out so nicely. So, listeners, if you're looking for a guide to get you up and running, lauren has you covered. Now. Did you pull this meal plan?
Speaker 3:Obviously, you pulled it from the recipes in the book, but are these I would assume it's meal plans that you've used as a dietician Like you, you, you, you've looked at what has worked and sort of put it all together in that sense, yeah, yeah, so, um, my philosophy with meal plans is that they're kind of just a great starting point for getting someone going, especially when they're kind of just dipping their toes into either wanting to incorporate more plant-based foods or get kind of more into cooking and meal prepping, they can be really wonderful for. So my main things when I was making these meal plans specifically were number one, that they were realistic, because I think sometimes you get meal plans and every single meal takes like 30 to 40 minutes to make and if you're doing that today like that's not going to happen yeah.
Speaker 3:So I really wanted it to be things that people could make. You know, during the week or ahead of the week. I tried to do overlapping ingredients a little bit as well, just because I don't know how grocery store prices are there, but I know here in Canada they're like skyrocketing. So if we can have some overlapping ingredients in a week, that's really helpful, I find. And obviously I wanted to have different kind of, especially protein sources. So maybe if there was like a bean at lunchtime, maybe we do like tofu or tempeh or edamame with dinner just kind of vary the protein sources a little bit to make sure that we're hitting all of our amino acids that we need to.
Speaker 1:That's great, that's great. So balanced. Balance is the theme. I'm here for it. That's so good. Well, this is the part where I ask you about your book brag. What's something when it comes to this book that you are most proud of?
Speaker 3:Oh, such a good question. I think what I'm most proud of about the book is that it is balanced. It is simple, the recipes are quick and easy, but they also taste delicious. That was my main thing when I was creating the book. You know, it's all well and good to have a cookbook developed by a dietician that you know is going to be nutritious and good recipes, but if it doesn't taste good, no one's going to want the recipes or want to make them anyway. So that was really important to me and and I do think that luckily I was able to kind of accomplish that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you absolutely have been able to, and I'm, like I've already said, my mouth is watering over that lasagna soup which I will be making today. So, everyone, pay attention, on Instagram I'll be posting it. Uh, the this episode will come up long after today, but scroll back on my instagram forward. Or check out lauren's instagram at tasting to thrive, where you can also see that delicious lasagna soup and lots of other great things in this book. That is the simple vegan kitchen everybody. Lauren, are you ready for your rapid fire round of questions?
Speaker 1:I'm so ready all, here we go Pancakes or waffles.
Speaker 3:Waffles.
Speaker 1:Favorite pasta shape.
Speaker 3:Oh penne All right but then bow tie came into my head and I said oh, maybe bow tie, are you sure?
Speaker 1:Okay, both good ones, both choices. They can have a tie. If you could cook for a celebrity, who would it be? Taylor Swift, of course, oh nice, yeah, nice Is our girl, taylor vegan.
Speaker 3:She's not vegan, is she? I don't know one thing about Taylor's workout routine, health routine. She did give some information in that Times article about her three-hour treadmill run while singing her set list.
Speaker 1:Oh well, that's like conditioning.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but she needs some fuel for that, so I think I could maybe step in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, I'm glad I don't know those things about her. As we're talking about this, I'm like it's none of my business, but I'm also curious. You know how plant based are you? Tay, tay, okay, favorite quick food item to make when you need a meal fast.
Speaker 3:Edamame. I think Barbecue is very good.
Speaker 1:Edamame is having a moment with us. Barbecue sauce or hot sauce.
Speaker 3:Barbecue sauce.
Speaker 1:Food trend you would like to see disappear.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 3:I think the hate on oat milk.
Speaker 1:Oh, very good, yeah, yeah, yeah, but curious from a dietician's perspective, why?
Speaker 3:So of course you know there are going to be oils added to plant-based milks a lot of the time, for you know mouthfeel, but also adding to helping the vitamins and minerals that are added to the milks kind of stay stabilized.
Speaker 3:And I say oat milk because I think that one gets the most heat when it comes to plant-based milks, but really what I'm kind of getting to is the vegetable oils that are added to it and the kind of hate that that gets that are added to it and kind of hate that that gets. Because I think, number one, we actually don't have evidence to show that vegetable oils are detrimental to our health in the quantities that most people have them in. And number two, if we're talking about, like, having a cup of oat milk a day with a little bit of vegetable oil, that's the most minuscule amount that, even if it was detrimental to our health, you're not really going to see the effects of that. So how much is in?
Speaker 1:Do you know how much is in?
Speaker 3:I don't know the exact amounts because I'm sure it varies brand, but I would guess maybe like a teaspoon, I would assume that's. You know my guess.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah, I put you on the spot with that one. It is rapid fire. I just haven't had the chance to chat about it with anyone, so I was curious. The next question is easier. I promise Favorite flavor of ice cream.
Speaker 3:Chocolate, I guess.
Speaker 1:Ooh, a purist.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 1:That's great. Last show that you binge watched Love is blind Amazing. Um. What dish did you make last? I made the hearty vegan sausage soup for my cookbook there we go Uh, if you could pick up a certain skill instantly, what would it be?
Speaker 3:I think probably is this a realistic skill or something like flying.
Speaker 1:We can do whatever we want.
Speaker 3:It could be fun, I mean, if it was something totally unrealistic. Being able to teleport different places absolutely would be my number one thing. My number two thing would probably being able to fall asleep anywhere, because I admire people who could do that.
Speaker 1:I do too.
Speaker 3:I do too.
Speaker 1:There's that episode of Friends, I think, where Phoebe's sleeping in the middle of Central Perk. And they're like how does she do this? And every time I see it I'm like how does she do that? I wish I could do that. But Phoebe was magical and mystical. So she was anything you know, it's kind of where she lives. If you could live in any decade, which would it be?
Speaker 3:Ooh, I think the seventies would be kind of fun Same.
Speaker 1:Yeah, donuts or cupcakes, donuts, nice, and that's your rapid fire. Well done, well done. I even put you under the heat just a little bit there. You did so well. Well, lauren, where can everyone find you please?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you can find me on my Instagram, which is at tastingtothrive. Underscore rd for both Instagram and TikTok, or my blog, tastingtothrivecom.
Speaker 1:Perfect and everyone. Be sure to go buy your copy right now of the Simple, vegan Kitchen Nutritionally Balanced, easy and Delicious Plant-Based Meals for Daily Wellness, everywhere books are sold. Lauren, what a lovely time chatting with you. Thank you so much for making the time to be here today.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, justin, so much fun. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for listening. We'd be so grateful if you would rate, review and subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast. It really does help us.
Speaker 1:Yes, thank you so much, and don't forget to check out keeponcookingcom for all the latest in recipes and Keep on Cooking updates. This has been a Muzzy Cat production.