Many years ago I was in a cycle of a certain kind of stress that was bubbling just beneath the surface, in a way that didn't scream urgency as you would perhaps feel during a big life transition, exam season or project deadline season, the illness of a family member, but rather, the kind of daily stress that keeps you on a hamster wheel, moving through your day scratching things off to-do lists, with your mind firmly on the next thing. I started having this very uncomfortable feeling that I was ...
Jan 31, 2025•46 min
In today's book club episode I'll be talking about the book Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationship with Food Through Myths, Metaphors, and Storytelling by Dr. Anita Johnston . It has been a go-to resource in the field of eating disorder recovery since its original publication in 1996, and I found it so eye opening and helpful that I felt I had to give it special attention in the podcast and tell you a bit about what you can find within its pages. I can't reco...
Jan 24, 2025•36 min
Today we delve into the fascinating concept of cognitive dissonance and how it relates to veganism, our relationship with food, habit changes and more. We'll explore the psychological discomfort that arises when our beliefs and actions don't align and how this can bring up challenges when attempting any changes that are so deeply linked to our value systems (veganism and our love of animals is one example but not the only one we discuss in this episode). We'll also discuss strategies for accepti...
Jan 17, 2025•36 min
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful end to 2024 and start to the new year, that you’re reenergized, and excited for anything you’ve set out to do this year. January is such a strange month, it’s filled with that new start , new you energy, and all the feels because of the Holidays coming to an end, it’s also Veganuary and the month of so many new year's resolutions when it comes to our habits, and so many people (myself included), chose this time of year once upon a time to m...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr 7 min
It's our last post and episode of the year, and with these sort of time markers, no matter how present I always try to be, there's no way to not catch the end of year bug and look back or look forward. Growing up I had a huge new year's resolution tradition with my mother. We'd sit in our living room, put on some music and write down a list of all the goals we wanted tor each the following year. We'd cut up the list into little strips of paper and stick them in a box or in our Christmas stocking...
Dec 27, 2024•23 min
When it comes to sitting around that beautiful Holiday table, something happens when we're surrounded by people who love us, where the invisible adult line called independence and autonomy is blurred, wiped out somehow, and all topics seem like fair game. As vegans we need to deal with conversations about why we aren't eating the non-vegan apple pie and what's the difference if you just have "a little butter", navigate questions about grass fed beef, animals who are treated well, mom and pop far...
Dec 20, 2024•36 min
Our 2024 gift guide episode is here! In today’s post and podcast episode I’ll be helping you with a list of amazing holiday gifts you can give to a vegan cook in the ultimate vegan Holiday and Christmas gift guide (that can also help you out for birthdays or any gift giving occasion). From fancy gifts for the vegan home cook to baskets and kits filled with ingredients and goodies, appliances, simple tools that make great stocking stuffers, some of the best vegan cookbooks out there, as well as d...
Dec 13, 2024•34 min
Today I have a total treat for you in that you’ll get to meet one of my favorite podcasters, Michele Olender, vegan life coach and host of the Vedge your Best Podcast . You know me and the way I talk about veganism, I meet people where they’re at, I respect the journey and timing of each person, I understand and have empathy for the fact that this change happens differently for different people. I’m not a proponent of adding shame, blame or guilt, or the idea of reaching perfection when you’re o...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 14 min
I still cannot believe that I got the chance to talk to the guest you’re about to hear. I found Jenn thanks to the magic of Google, possibly over a decade ago, when I was looking to see if anyone was working on or talking about veganism and eating disorder recovery. Back then, Jenn was speaking about her own journey of recovery from an eating disorder and was using her beautiful music to help inspire and support fellow people in recovery. For the first time, I heard an echo of what I had been fe...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 3 min
It is rare that after 12 years of being vegan I come across a book on veganism that surprises me with such a jolt that I find myself dedicating not one podcast episode to it but two. If you missed last week's episode of the podcast I sat down to have the most thrilling chat with Matthew Halteman, author of the book Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan , professor of philosophy at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and fellow in the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, ...
Nov 22, 2024•30 min
Every now and then I read a book that creates such an impact in the way I see things that I can’t keep it to myself. I feel the need to reach out from my microphone and into your headphones and lure you with an invisible finger with the smell of fresh vegan croissants, out of your chair, only this time, to your local bookstore, to get what I now consider to be the best book on veganism I’ve ever read. Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Matt Halteman author of the book in question: H...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 50 min
I’m so thrilled to introduce you to our first restaurant owners and cookbook authors ever to be on the show! Their story is so inspiring. There is no question that starting a restaurant is capital R risky, stressful, scary and overwhelming, but what if it included the arrival of a hurricane two weeks later, then a pandemic, then the ebbs and flows of any business. How can you go from two friends who had a similar and separate dream to a partnership that takes you from cooking in a studio apartme...
Nov 12, 2024•1 hr
It’s one of those days folks. One of those days in which I get to interview one of my dream guests in the podcast, someone who you know well if you’re a long time listener, reader or student because to me she is one of the top experts in vegan nutrition out there. I found her years ago thanks to the magic of google in an article she had written and immediately started following her. I’ve read perhaps most of her blog posts, I’m a die hard subscriber of her newsletter and a student of her incredi...
Nov 08, 2024•59 min
Brownble has given me more unexpected gifts than I can count, and by far, the greatest of gifts has been the people I’ve met, all through my work on the internet. Not only our amazing students, readers and listeners, but colleagues and friends, all on a similar journey. It’s my version of online dating for someone who has been with her significant other for 24 years, but with none of the horror stories and solely ALL of the friendship. One of these gifts, has been my friend and registered dietit...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 18 min
It's not a common event at our podcast that we get to sit down and put our business shoes on, and yet, we constantly encounter listeners that are either thinking of starting a business, already have one, or are simply entrepreneurially curious and love to hear stories of how the vegan sausage gets made. I could think of no better person to scratch the itch of the vegan business and marketing talk than Sandra Nomoto, author of the fantastic book Vegan Marketing Success Stories, the first book to ...
Oct 25, 2024•57 min
In today's episode we're learning how to grown our own food, veganically, aka organic fruits and veggies that don't need a single animal product for fertilizing, all thanks the wonderful work of Meg Kelly, gardener and farmer extraordinaire, helping people and animals through her incredible work. Meg Kelly is an advocate for veganic gardening and farming. In 2008 she co-founded the Veganic Agriculture Network to promote organic food production that uses fully plant-based fertilizers, without any...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 17 min
In today's episode, I give you a quick personal update sharing a few things that have been going on in our personal lives. I talk about the crazy month of September, downsizing, I give you a doggie PSA, and share how change seemed to follow me around this past year. I also talk about the future of the podcast, what's coming to Brownble and more. For all the links mentioned in today's episode, click here or visit brownble.com/blog...
Oct 11, 2024•14 min
In today's episode of the podcast I talk to Carly Puch, host of the Consciously Clueless Podcast. Carly Jean Puch is a passionate advocate for mindful living, veganism, and environmental sustainability. She hosts the Consciously Clueless podcast , which explores the interconnection between personal health and global well-being through a vegan lens. Carly's mission is to inspire and empower individuals to live compassionately and make collective changes in the world. With a Bachelor's degree in S...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Ever wondered why honey, a natural and seemingly harmless sweetener, is off the table for vegans? The answer lies in the ethical considerations surrounding bee farming and the impact on the bees themselves. In today's episode we'll be diving into why most vegans don't eat honey, whether all vegans skip it, how this (as with all we talk about) relates to mindful eating, and how it aligns with a compassionate, plant-based lifestyle. We'll discuss gray areas for vegans in practical terms and where ...
Sep 07, 2024•22 min
The last installment of our “Why Vegan” series is finally here! Today I round out the series by sharing a much more personal and selfish “why”. Once I made this change, and through the many years I’ve been vegan, I’ve felt so many internal changes, so many points of self discovery, and so many ways in which veganism has pushed me forward to have a more confident life and a more peaceful relationship with food. These were so powerful that today I wanted to share them with you to close off the ser...
Aug 16, 2024•29 min
In today’s instalment of our “Why Vegan” series, we’ll be talking about another one of those big reasons why so many people are opting for more and more vegan meals and choices, and why so many have decided to go vegan. As I’ve been saying throughout the series, it doesn’t matter if you’ve decided to make this change because of animals, or the environment, or your health, no matter what your personal reason why is, eating a vegan diet helps create wonderful changes in all of these areas, and the...
Aug 02, 2024•32 min
Today will be the last of the animals segment of our “Why vegan” series, in which we’ll be discussing the two industries people ask me the most about: eggs and dairy. If you’ve ever wondered “Why don’t vegans eat eggs or milk and other dairy products?”, or if you are vegan and get this question often and need a little information on this subject, this episode will be perfect, and great for sharing with friends or family who have asked you questions.We also discuss free range farms, cage free far...
Jul 19, 2024•41 min
The day is closely approaching everyone! You know we've been hard at work preparing the biggest changes to Brownble since we started it and so much is coming. Click play above to learn all about it, what's new, what is included if you're already a student or member, as well as what's coming on Sunday July 7th. To learn even more about all these new updates, read our FAQ's regarding your access if you're a current student, and get on our list to receive an early bird special for the new full acce...
Jul 02, 2024•8 min
We’re back with another podcast episode of our “Why Vegan” series, newly revamped and updated, exploring the reasons why making more vegan choices, and of course going vegan, can have such a positive impact in the world we live in. In this series on the benefits of eating a vegan diet we've covered the impact on our health, the environment and finally we've reached the reason I made this change over a decade ago, the animals. In our last installment we talked about meat, and how our food choices...
Apr 12, 2024•28 min
As you know, we’ve started a brand new series in the podcast titled the “Why Vegan” Series, a newly revamped, re-recorded and updated version of our most beloved and downloaded series in the podcast. Through these episodes we’re going to share those big reasons why more and more people are deciding to move towards a more plant-based way of eating and going vegan. We've discussed the effects on going vegan when it comes to our health, our environment, and now it's finally time to begin with what ...
Mar 22, 2024•38 min
Today's episode (and a slight and only temporary interruption of our newly revamped Why Vegan Series) comes as a more informal conversation in which I share some news, updates and big announcements about the future of Brownble, and I give you a little glimpse behind the curtain of what life is like right now. I hope you enjoy it and we'll be back to our Why Vegan series in no time at all!
Mar 08, 2024•33 min
In today's episode of our "Why Vegan" series, we're talking about the impact eating a meat and dairy based diet has on our environment. Until I began to read about these issues, I had never really sat down to think about the chain of production of the foods I consumed, the resources these products required to land on supermarket shelves, let alone the huge consequences they had on our environment and our fellow humans and animals in turn. Today we explore all of these issues and I share some min...
Feb 23, 2024•33 min
One of our most downloaded series in the podcast is back! Our "Why Vegan" series is meant to give you all the information on why so many people are switching to a plant-based diet and a vegan lifestyle. Newly updated, revamped, including new information and data, all in the hopes that it continues to inspire you, or it serves to arm you with information and knowledge on some of these issues, or it serves as a great place to point people to who have questions and want an opener into these topics....
Feb 02, 2024•40 min
So many of the topics we discuss at Brownble have to do with the changing of habits, the quitting of habits and the creation of new habits. Today I’ll be sharing some simple tools, habit basics and motivation basics all in the hopes that these support you on your efforts if you’re on this journey to eating more plants or going vegan, as well as some of the tools, exercises and resources that have helped countless of our students through the years when transitioning to a vegan or plant based diet...
Dec 15, 2023•31 min
In part 2 of our Holiday series I thought I would give you a bit of support, not in culinary and meal planning terms (we covered all of that in part 1 , our previous episode), but in the emotional and relationship side of things so that you can have the most joyful time this holiday season no matter how you eat, or how differently you do so when compared to your family members and friends. If this is your first Holiday Season or Christmas as a Vegan, the tips I share today will help you during t...
Dec 01, 2023•39 min
