As I write this I’m on an airplane, flying across the country to speak at the SoCal Vegfest, eating my salad with a smile on my face because the hummus that I also brought along with carrots made it through security (it doesn’t always). #thingsonlyaveganwouldsay 😆

Here’s a vegan travel tip: I always opt for bringing a hearty salad that I make at home and put in a collapsible container, rather than bringing “snack” foods like trail mix.

This goes along with my philosophy of eating in a way that gives you the most bang for your caloric buck (high nutrient to calorie ratio), which helps me maintain a strong, lean body without walking around feeling hungry or deprived.

I’m pumped to see some old friends at the festival (Shabnam Islam, Allison Melody, and James Wilks to name a few), and to meet some of the amazing people I’ve interviewed for the Rise & Thrive Podcast in person for the first time (like Chef Babette Davis, whose Rise & Thrive interview just came out!). I’ll be sharing all about the experience in next week’s newsletter.

Speaking of travel… 

It’s so interesting, I was having a catch-up call with Christina Pirello (host of the PBS show, Christina Cooks) the other day, (hers is one of my favorite interviews EVER on the Rise and Thrive Podcast).

We were chatting about chatting… Both of us find ‘small talk’ challenging – even a bit painful and exhausting if I’m being totally honest!

Our conversation then gravitated toward the topic of contemplating our own impact in this world… both positive and negative. For example, right now, I’m flying across the country in an airplane.

I’m making this trip to speak at a festival that is all about inspiring people to go vegan/eat plant-based, with reducing our carbon footprint as one of the reasons to do so. (I’ve seen recent studies that report that a vegan’s carbon footprint is typically 50-75% less than that of a meat-eater.)

According to good ol’ Google, a flight across the United States emits about 0.62 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per passenger.

That said, I think it’s fair to ask myself, “Am I doing the “right” thing here?”

To answer this question, I think about my intention of moving through the world doing the most good and the least harm.

Is this trip aligned with my intention?

I believe it is – so here I am, on my way!

While we’re on the topic of travel…

Even with the healthy relationship I enjoy with food now, I still sometimes get thrown off a bit when I travel.

London in September was tougher than I imagined in that salads that are up to my standard (I am admittedly a salad snob) were much less accessible than I had expected. And a simple green vegetable juice was surprisingly hard to find.

I mean, can you believe that at the popular Joe & the Juice, they put olive oil in their green juices? I mean, their argument is that it keeps the juice from separating and helps the fat soluble vitamins absorb better. But when I’m craving a green juice, I personally don’t want oil in it. (Blending the juice with a little avocado would be a preferable way to add fat to a juice.) I found this very annoying!

For someone who eats salad as my first meal of the day because it makes me feel so damn good, missing out on my greens rocked my world a bit, and when I got home, I found myself struggling a bit with cravings.

And do you know what helped me get back on track?

Drum roll please…

WATER.

Yup, plain ol’ (filtered) water. A lot of it.

I upped my water intake to over 100 oz a day for a week.

I also made sure that I did not drink water in the 30 minutes following eating, as it does not lend well to the digestion process.

The results felt magical! Within just a few days I felt detoxed, and I was so full of water most of the day, and so busy running to the bathroom to pee, that I didn’t have the desire or time to eat foods that weren’t aligned with feeling my best.

I’m now back to drinking an average of 70-100 oz of water a day.

By the way…

At the risk of this being TMI, Quinn and I joke that I have the bladder the size of Fiona (my rescue chihuahua), so I still pee a lot, but it’s truly worth how great being fully hydrated makes me feel. 

If you’re into Ayurvedic medicine, my Vata dosha is off the charts, making me prone to dehydration. 

And last, speaking of Fiona, she is doing well… such a light in my life! I’ll fill you in more about her progress around her anxiety soon.

Interview to Check Out

I had such a fabulous conversation with Caryn Hartglass on her podcast, It’s All About Food, last week, and I’m excited to share it with you. We covered a lot of ground, but what I think may be most valuable was our deep dive deep into the topic of cravings.

Have a listen HERE!

New Freebie to Download

I recently created this Emergency Cravings Kit – A guide that helps you better understand your cravings and provides a super simple 5-step strategy to say goodbye to self-sabotaging snack attacks and hello to enjoying food without the guilt.

And guess what… It’s FREE!