Thought For Food Podcast

  This week on the podcast, we're incredibly excited to share our conversation with plant-based legend, Rip Esselstyn. If you're a veteran of the plant-based movement, you've most likely seen the acclaimed documentary Forks Over Knives, of which Rip plays an integral role. Rip is the son of legendary surgeon and luminary of the plant-based medical field, Caldwell Esselstyn. Rip has a background in elite triathlon, and was an All-American swimmer at UT Austin, and then shifting into the professional triathlon ranks, all while fueling himself on a whole food, plant-based diet. He then inspired his firefighting brothers to overhaul their diet to get healthier, which catalyzed the writing of his first book, The Engine 2 Diet. He has since partnered with Whole Foods on an exclusive line of healthy, plant-based products like hummus, plant milks, and more and has a brand new book out called the Seven Day Rescue Diet which we get into in the episode!  Rip is a super energetic, passionate, and positive dude th

      A while back on the show, we talked about our struggles with exercise addiction, a problem that is very common among athletes and health/fitness community. We shared our experiences with this topic, and tried to unpack how to better balance life with exercise. We recommend you go back and listen to that episode before diving into this one if you haven't already.  Today, we revisit this realm and check in with each other about where we're at in terms of exercise addiction. We discuss what our respective routines look like now, the difference between training to maintain and training for a specific event (like Jackson's upcoming Vegan Alpletic adventure), and finally some updated tips and advice for preventing and addressing this problem. We've seen this pop up a lot in people within the plant-based community, and have had a lot of you reach out with your concerns and experiences, which is really inspiring. We want to stimulate a conversation among athletes to hopefully find a better relationship with

In this installment of the Random Show, Jackson and Aaron discuss a bit about Jackson's upcoming travel, exciting news about Patreon, and why we've decided to support creators that provide us with a tremendous amount of value. Connect with TFF: Website: tfflifestyle.com Instagram: instagram.com/tfflifestyle Facebook: facebook.com/tfflifestyle Twitter: twitter.com/tfflifestyle Patreon: patreon.com/thoughtforfood YouTube: bit.ly/tfftv Podcast: bit.ly/TFFitunes Vegan Alpletic trip: donate.mercyforanimals.org/veganalpletic

      Today we're pleased to bring you our conversation with Dr. Allen Lim, a Ph.D Exercise Physiologist from the University of Colorado Boulder (Jackson's Alma Mater), founder of the exercise hydration company Skratch Labs, lover of bikes, and proponent of eating food made from scratch. As Allen puts it - his parts are from China, made in the Philippines, and programmed in America. Allen grew up in Los Angeles, California and quickly developed a love for the bike, which allowed him to discover a passion for exercise physiology. He eventually did his Master's and Ph.D in Boulder, researching the stress involved in exercise. He then went on to work on developing the PowerTap, one of the first tools used to measure power output on the bike, and began working for professional cycling teams at big races like the Tour de France. While doing this, he started realizing that athletes were doing much better performance wise when they were fed real food. Armed with his rice cooker and kitchen utensils, he began feed

This week's (long) Random Show is all about the wilderness. Jackson and Aaron talk about their most profound and sometimes terrifying experiences in the outdoors. Get outside, get uncomfortable, and #doepicshit. Connect with TFF: Website: tfflifestyle.com Instagram: instagram.com/tfflifestyle Facebook: facebook.com/tfflifestyle Twitter: twitter.com/tfflifestyle Patreon: patreon.com/thoughtforfood YouTube: bit.ly/tfftv Podcast: bit.ly/TFFitunes

This week's episode is something a little different. I'm incredibly excited to announce Vegan Alpletic: a collaboration between myself, Ian Moore, Gruffudd Pugh-Jones, Mercy For Animals, and Vegan Athletic Apparel. The first week of July, Ian, Gruff, and I are embarking on a fundraising expedition for Mercy For Animals by traveling through the French and Italian Alps in search of the hardest, most epic climbs to ride on our bikes. By raising awareness about the potential for a plant-based, vegan diet to fuel even the hardest athletic ventures, and educating others about the realities of factory farms, we are hoping to raise $10,000 for the animal rights organization MFA. Many people still believe that you cannot thrive as an athlete while on a vegan diet, that the consumption of at least some animal products is required to fuel the elite athlete. We are here to end that misconception. My friend Ian has been vegan since birth, and is an elite category 1 road cyclist. I have raced at the elite national and inte

      This week on the show we talk to Matt Frazier of the popular vegan/running blog, No Meat Athlete. No Meat Athlete, for those of you that are unaware, has been around almost a decade, and has since evolved into a podcast, a meal plan service, various products, and now a brand new cookbook. NMA, composed of both Matt and TFF podcast alumni, Doug Hay, is a tremendous resource for the plant-based athlete. From running and general exercise tips, nutrition information, and more, NMA is essential reading for any athlete thinking about eating more plants. Matt just released an amazing new cookbook, titled The No Meat Athlete Cookbook which has been a smashing success already, reaching the top 50 overall books on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon. That's pretty crazy, not only for NMA but for the plant-based movement in general! The focus of the book is simple, practical, and delicious whole food plant-based recipes for athletes. Meals that are both nourishing and satiating, while at the same time incredibly eas

This week on the Random Show, Jackson talks about his recent epic "Alps Camp" training weekend and we discuss our latest thoughts on the approach of TFF. Connect with TFF: Website: tfflifestyle.com Instagram: instagram.com/tfflifestyle Facebook: facebook.com/tfflifestyle Twitter: twitter.com/tfflifestyle Patreon: patreon.com/thoughtforfood YouTube: bit.ly/tfftv Podcast: bit.ly/TFFitunes

      Welcome to the first installment of the new Plant Based Parenting Series! It's been a long time coming and Aaron is really excited to share this with all of you. On todays show, Aaron walks you through the current scientific consensus on strict plant-based pregnancies, some important literature on omnivorous pregnancies, what is currently recommended for vegans and vegetarians in terms of important nutrients, supplementation and weight gain and finally an interview with his wife Allison about her current and former pregnancy experience from conception to birth. Thank you all for listening. We hope you really enjoy the first episode and please let us know what you thought by shooting an email to tfflifestyle@gmail.com. Aaron has interviews lined up with some prominent pediatricians and looks forward to getting some parents on the show as well to talk about their experience raising plant-based kids. Want to support the show and what TFF is doing? You can share our content with friends and family if

  In this week's edition of the Random Show, Jackson and Aaron discuss censorship, our new business idea, and vlog life. The Random Show is a random show where we, and occasionally random guests, talk about random topics. No editing, no script, just randomness. Say hi: Website: https://www.tfflifestyle.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/tfflifestyle Facebook: http://facebook.com/tfflifestyle Twitter: http://twitter.com/tfflifestyle Patreon: http://patreon.com/thoughtforfood YouTube: http://bit.ly/tfftv Podcast: http://bit.ly/TFFitunes

This week on the show, we are incredibly excited to share our conversation with Audrey Sanchez, Executive Director of a new non-profit organization called Balanced (balanced.org) that was started in collaboration with NutritionFacts.org. Balanced is dedicated to fighting for responsibility in the food system by demanding schools, hospitals, corporations, and beyond follow the latest scientific research to provide healthier food alternatives. With lifestyle related diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer crippling our healthcare system and leading to enormous costs and suffering being incurred, action must be taken to follow the latest evidence and remove unhealthy foods from these large organizations. With Audrey's background as an educator, animal rights activist, and parent, she is well poised to take on this antiquated system and move to make the healthier food choice more accessible - a limiting factor for eating well. Universities, hospitals, schools, and businesses have the opportunity

This week we answer listener questions on our seventh installment of the Q&A podcast. Questions addressed include: which form of oats is healthiest? what's our take on intermittent fasting? best practices for supplementation and how to trust supplement quality are high fat plant foods unhealthy or do they hinder performance for athletes? traveling abroad as a vegan and running in a foreign place what's the deal with food combining? how plant-based nutrition affects type 1 diabetes nutritional guidance for a high school plant-based athlete Thank you to Miriam, Guy, Taylor, Emily, and Evan for the awesome questions! If you want a question featured on the show, send us an email to tfflifestyle@gmail.com We are incredibly excited to be a part of the advisory board for Balanced, a new non-profit organization that is dedicated to fighting for nutritional responsibility within corporations, hospitals, schools, businesses, and beyond and shifting towards an evidence-based framework within this syst

Jackson and Aaron discuss what social media and technology is doing to our culture and how we are approaching it as social media creators. Podcasts mentioned: www.samharris.org/podcast/item/wha…logy-doing-to-us www.richroll.com/podcast/leo-babauta/

This week's interview is a little different. The Thought For Food Lifestyle extends beyond nutrition and food, and today's conversation is rooted in getting comfortable with discomfort, athletic performance, mindset, and living the dream. I'm excited to bring you my conversation with Rick Kapala - program director and head coach for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation's cross-country ski program. Rick graduated from Michigan Technological University with a degree in biological sciences, after developing a love for cross-country skiing. He then began coaching in Alaska, eventually landing in Sun Valley, Idaho in 1987. He has since coached at multiple world championships and has been integral in the development of multiple national champions and even Olympians. Rick was my ski coach in high school, and has had a profound impact on my life by inspiring in me and others this idea of getting comfortable with discomfort - which is the theme of this podcast. My favorite memories from ski team were not the ski ra

The first installment of the new Plant-Based Parenting Series where Aaron walks you through his goals for the series and what you can expect moving forward. Regular PBPS episodes will air on Thursdays, probably once a month so keep an ear out! If you are a vegan parent or know other evidence-based, rational vegan parents who would like to be on the show to talk about their experiences and share advice, please reach out to us at tfflifestyle@gmail.com. Go feed your kids some plants, play outside with them and be the best parents you can be! Follow us: Instagram: instagram.com/tfflifestyle Facebook: facebook.com/tfflifestyle Twitter: twitter.com/tfflifestyle YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCT3Z3kL6Nsbhb0AY8mzpQhA

Gluten. Perhaps the hottest and most controversial trend in the food world at the moment. From celebrities to the blogosphere, there is so much information swirling around about this little set of storage proteins found in wheat and related grains. But what does the actual science say? Well, you're in luck. We're excited to present to you the 5th installment in our What's The Deal podcast series, where we deep dive into the science on a specific nutrient or food to debunk the myths, clear up the science, and hopefully arm you with some knowledge. And today, our focus is gluten. From what it actually is, to its function, to discussing the clinical manifestations of serious gluten allergies. We then dive into common claims made about gluten, such as: even if you don't have celiac disease, gluten is still unhealthy gluten is inflammatory gluten causes autoimmune diseases gluten causes fatigue, brain fog, and other neurological symptoms going gluten free helps you lose weight We want to make it clear

In today's random show, Aaron and Jackson talk about why Aaron gets sick all the time, oil, and more.

If you've been following Thought For Food for a while, you know that we're obsessed with the idea of game-changing plant-based food tech companies coming in and disrupting the antiquated factory farming system. And Beyond Meat is one of those companies leading the charge. By gathering up a team of extremely talented and extremely smart scientists, researchers, and chefs, they are studying and analyzing what makes meat what it is. They then apply that understanding to figure out ways to make the same biological structure, specifically the protein structure, fat content, and nutrient makeup, from plants. With investors from the likes of Biz Stone and Bill Gates, Beyond Meat put itself on the map with its first product, the Beyond Chicken Strips, highly realistic chicken cutlets made from peas. They've since grown to including beefy crumbles, and last year launched the Beyond Burger (in Boulder!). This new product is outstanding. A raw burger patty that is being sold in the meat case at Whole Foods across the co

The plant-based and vegan lifestyle is currently trending. From awareness about the benefits of living a plant-based lifestyle for ethical, environmental, and health reasons to the availability of vegan products, there's no doubt that this movement is booming. Yet, most people don't become vegan until later in their lives if at all, and most people still probably believe that you can't do it as a kid or especially from birth. Well, today I'm joined by my good friend Ian Moore and his mom Cherie, to talk about his experience being born and raised on a completely plant-based, vegan diet. Yup, Ian is almost 23 and has never eaten animal products, and is also a high-level road cyclist. It still blows my mind. His mom went vegan at the age of 18 and has never looked back, setting a world record in the tandem ride across America and becoming a nutrition teacher at Cuesta College in the process. These two have some fantastic stories to tell and advice to share about living a healthy plant-based lifestyle, and we tal

This installment of the random show, Jackson sits down with Tara Kemp in Santa Monica, California to talk school, how self-love and nutrition are related, and other random topics. Be sure to check out Tara's podcast, Healthy Harmony, at https://soundcloud.com/user-689309921 and iTunes, and follow her on Instagram: @tarakemp_