"It's compassion for the animals, it's for the environment, it's for my own personal health... I just know it's the right thing to do."On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with fellow Hingham resident Jen Hemmerdinger. Jen and I connected via an awesome new group I've linked up with of vegan corporate professionals in the Boston area. When I saw that Jen lived in Hingham, I was extremely excited to connect and chat more with her. We talk about how Jen was raised as a vegetarian, what it was like as a kid eating that way, how she coexists with an omnivorous husband, eating plant based while traveling, and why she made the leap to vegan in the past couple of years. Jen is an amazing example of the power of a plant based diet, and through her Instagram, she does a great job of showing how simple and delicious it is! I love seeing people in the town that I grew up in, a place very dear to me, living this lifestyle! P.S. Like all of my other guests, Jen looks 10 years younger than she is... because she eats plants!

"Knowing what I know... I can't imagine three plus times a day deciding to keep loading up on things that promote cancer and heart disease and diabetes..." On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with local plant based physician Benjamin Matthews. Benjamin and I connected through the Boston Plant Based Millennials group I'm a part of, and I was very excited to have him as a guest and talk about the intersection of diet and medicine. We talk about why he chose to pursue a career as an OBGYN, what level and amount of nutritional training the average doctor receives, what role diet and other factors can play in fertility, the risks of different forms of contraception, the untapped opportunity OBGYN's have to help prevent disease, and much more. I wish I got to spend more time with Benjamin, because he is so knowledgable, genuine, and all around a great guy. This is a really interesting episode and I hope you learn as much as I did from Benjamin!

"Plants are performance enhancing drugs..."On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with college athlete Kyle Gillan-Hughes. Kyle and I linked up on Instagram a few weeks back and I was really excited to get him on the podcast, as I love seeing the younger guys and girls adopting a plant based lifestyle (especially athletes who are debunking the protein myth!). We talk about how Kyle went from being a beefy high school football player to a shredded cross country college athlete in only a year, how a plant based diet has impacted his athletic performance, why treating similar animals dissimilarly is simply wrong, and why he is on a quest to run for all beings. Outside of being an athletic beast, Kyle is just an amazing dude and is no doubt destined for great things.

"I believe we have a cure for cancer... prevention is the cure. And even when it starts, you can reverse it."On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with the inspiring Lauren Previte. Lauren is a local dancer, dance teacher, and pure barre instructor here on the South Shore. A couple of years ago, Lauren started having some health issues from her kidneys failing to bladder infections and a number of other seemingly unexplainable issues. Then a regular trip to her OBGYN turned into a life changing scare with a rare cancer. After emergency surgery, doctors told Lauren there was up to an 80% chance that the tumor would come right back. But she was determined to make sure that didn't happen. After countless hours of research and watching YouTube videos Lauren adopted a plant based diet over night. It has now been 1.5 years and there is no sign of the cancer returning. Seeing how amazing Lauren looks, and how vibrant and full of life she is, and hearing about what she eats and does every day... I think it's safe to say that cancer has absolutely no shot at making a comeback. This is a conversation about taking your health into your own hands, it's about truly using food and lifestyle as medicine, and is probably the most inspiring episode to date. Lauren is a total rockstar.

"For me, it's about living life. It's about being in control of your own destiny, of your own health, and being able to enjoy life and the ones you love, and being there for them."On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with me, myself, and I. This being episode 11, which was my number in sports and somewhat of a lucky number to me, I thought it would be cool to tell my own story and how I ended up adopting a plant based lifestyle and everything I have learned since doing so. I talk about a plant based lifestyle from a health standpoint, an environmental standpoint, and a compassion standpoint. I discuss why eating meat and dairy is the single greatest threat to your health and how genetics are not to blame for your health issues. I talk about how we are all in full control over our health, and how feeling your best, dodging disease, living long, and being around for the ones you love is as simple as eating a whole foods plant based diet, moving a little each day, breathing, and loving. It's really that simple. My goal of this episode is to show you that vegans are not crazy animal loving hipsters, they're actually just regular people who became aware of the facts and made a logical decision to take their health into their own hands and stop living a life of harming others.

"I want to try and lead a more compassionate life... towards the environment, towards health, towards the animals... and towards people."On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with Singaporean native Muhammad Ryza. Ryza is the third guest in a string of episodes done during my time in the fabulous country of Singapore. Ryza, along with his mother Nora, is the creator of the popular Instagram account @theveganmumnson, which is a fabulous destination for those seeking simple home cooked vegan recipes. Ryza and Nora have also teamed up to form a local online vegan bakery business called The Vegan Bakes n Makes, where you can order on demand vegan sweets, like black bean cocoa brownies and coconut lemon frosted carrot cake. My mouth is watering... We talk about Ryza's journey growing up as an overweight kid, how every Singaporean male must serve in the military once they reach the age of 18, what triggered his switch to veganism, how you absolutely don't need dairy products to make outstanding baked goods, and what it's like being vegan in the Muslim faith. Ryza is really an amazing guy and him and his mother are an extraordinary example of how the whole family can benefit from and be brought closer through a plant based lifestyle.

"Every single decision that I make has a direct impact on the world around me...it's all about energy."On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with the absolutely shredded Crossfit athlete, wellness entrepreneur, and author Luke Tan. Like last week's guest, Luke is also a Singapore citizen and an inspiration to many in the vegan movement here on the island. We talk about his journey as an athlete in both Singapore and Australia, how a documentary sparked his change to veganism, where he gets his protein on a plant based diet and how our understanding of protein is flawed, his thoughts on Crossfit and the paleo diet, and how maintaining and building muscle as a vegan is absolutely no problem! I had a blast chatting with Luke and debunking all the reasons why people think they need to consume animal based protein to be strong and healthy (when, in fact, it does just the opposite... it makes you sore and unhealthy). Look Luke up on social media, and check out the picture of us... would you guess this guy is almost 40?! That, my friends, is the power of the plants.

"I really want to minimize the amount of harm my choices cause every day... and do better and better."On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with the compassionate and positive Michael Broadhead. I am out in Singapore for the next few weeks, and through the connections of a previous guest on the podcast (Dan Stackhouse) I got hooked up with a number of vegans here in the country known as the little red dot. Almost everyone I spoke with directed me to Michael Broadhead. Michael is the founder of the charitable organization Animal Allies, as well as a local school teacher, and is a major leader in the vegan movement here in Singapore. We talk about how Michael went from growing up on a farm in rural Canada to traveling the world and winding up in Asia, what the vegan scene is like here in Singapore, the diabetes and other lifestyle disease issues in Singapore, the future of the vegan movement in the country, and much more. Michael is one of those people who you spend five minutes with and you feel like you've known him for years. He is one of the most travelled people I've ever met and it was an absolute pleasure getting to know him.

"It's about you. When you truly love yourself... when you treat yourself well, you're able to treat everyone else so much better."On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with the inspiring and energetic Monica Otero. Monica and I have followed each other on Instagram for a while, as we both have very similar fields of work, helping men and women prevent and reverse health issues with diet and lifestyle. I mentioned I was going to be out on the west coast this week and we were able to link up for an awesome conversation at a local restaurant in the Newport Beach area. We talk about how Monica was aware from a very young age of the environmental harm done by humans, how most Americans pay for things that provide no real value to them, and the importance of self love. Monica's energy is insane and her desire to help others and the planet is truly inspiring. She is also an amazing chef and her meals go to show just how incredible basic recipes with fresh plant foods and a little love can be. Honestly, I thought Monica was like 27 years old and found out she's almost 40! She is a shining example of the power of living a vegan lifestyle.

"Whatever I do in my life... it's never going to be 100% fulfilling to me unless I'm doing it for the big picture."On this week's episode of the Eat Green Make Green Podcast, I sit down with the very talented Dan Stackhouse. I was fortunate to link up with Dan through a local vegan group of millennials in the Boston area, and he welcomed me into his home without hesitation to have this conversation. This is one of the more in depth conversations around veganism that I've had on the podcast. We cover everything from health, to the environment, to animals, to protein, and what it really means to be humane. Dan's knowledge on the topics we cover is very impressive and his passion for having a bigger impact in the world is very evident and inspiring. Not only is Dan a great dude, but he also shreds the oboe and is a part of the Boston based band Junco.