More Plants: A Vegan Podcast by Brownble

Today we have a very special guest on the show, a dear friend and writer, blogger and a passionate vegan, Caitlin Galer-Unti to talk about transitions. Transitioning to veganism, transitions in work and life and how we can keep ourselves in mind when making big changes. We talk about doing things at our own pace and finding the resources that will help us navigate big changes in our lives. We discuss how the pandemic caused so many ripples in our lives, and why as content creators, even as people, our interests change and pivot, how it is in fact a common reaction to difficult times to follow them up with a big burst of daring and change. We also talk about how the vegan movement has changed through the years, we discuss ex-vegans, as well as expanding compassion to other areas of our lives, and more. You can connect with Caitlin through her website, follow her on instagram @theveganword and on Facebook. For all the links mentioned in today's episode, click here or visit brownble.com/blog

Today we are joined by none other than "The Intuitive Vegan", Gabi Maddocks on the show. Gabi started her instagram account when she became vegan four years ago to keep a record of her own recipes. Over the next year her followers grew and grew - maybe because of her accessible cooking style and her method of quickly snapping the results without any staging. Gabi joins us today to talk about her own journey into veganism, her journey and philosophy of eating, thinking and cooking intuitively, she shares some of her experiences with her diagnosis of Crohn’s disease and managing it through a vegan diet (understanding that medication is also a part of the journey), and she discusses how her veganism has evolved through time. She’s also great at talking about imperfection within veganism, practicing intuitive eating as a vegan, navigating having a mixed eating household with kids, and what I loved the most about our conversation, how thinking for yourself within a movement that often wants to speak for you, can heal your relationship with food, connect you with others, and make you even more compassionate and inspirational. If you've ever asked yourself "can you be a vegan intuitive eater?", today's episode will shed some light as to how to navigate being an intuitive eating vegan when your motivation for being vegan is based on animal welfare and being an ethical vegan. You can find Gabi on instagram through the handle @the.intuitive.vegan and through her website, as well as her company The Playing Space @theplayingspace on instagram, and through their website. For all other links mentioned in today's episode, click here or visit brownble.com/blog

In today's podcast episode for The Brownble Podcast, I am interviewing Sanja Zugic, a passionate entrepreneur and environmental activist who I greatly admire. Sanja is the founder of Eco Serein. She started the brand in 2019 and not only sells eco friendly products but also organizes clean ups in the USA and Serbia. So far they have organized multiple events, cleaning up more than 10,000 pounds of trash. They’ve had around 100 volunteers joining them, uniting different nationalities and groups. In today’s conversation we talk about our disconnection to the trash we discard and her journey to becoming an incredible environmental ambassador. She gives me a lesson or two about how to recycle correctly, and gives us so many ways to reduce plastic use in the bathroom and our beauty products and cosmetics, kitchen and when shopping, and she brings inspiring stories from gathering people together to do the hands on work of cleaning the natural spaces we share with animals and communities that are being greatly harmed by our use of plastics. Join us in this episode full of zero waste tips, and to hear her story about becoming vegan, and how her activism and veganism has changed and transformed through the years.  Make sure to follow Eco Serein on Instagram and to check out their product line at Eco Serein. For all the other links and recommendations mentioned in the episode, click here.

Today's guest on the podcast is International flight attendant and on board manager for one of the world's largest airlines, and my friend, Simon. Today he shares his stories of becoming an International flight attendant at age 19 (cabin crew for all our UK listeners and readers), what it's like to live life "up in the air" style, and he gives us all his best tips and tricks for flying in commercial airlines as vegans, answering a question about vegan air travel by one of our Sams. We discuss what foods we can take past airport security, how to find delicious vegan meals wherever you are in the world, and all things vegan travel. Simon also talks about his battle with anxiety and depression, body image struggles in an industry with a high pressure to look a certain way in uniform, having to navigate burnout in an industry and job he loves with a passion, and the importance of setting boundaries and finding inner calm to stay grounded (peeps, he's one of the most incredible boundary setters I've ever known and I learn from him daily!). We talk self care, seeking help when needed to support our mental health, the importance of demystifying and destigmatizing SSRI's and more. Our friendship has meant so much to me and started as an email exchange when he found Brownble online, but it has now been years of sharing some of the most personal stories and life lessons, because as you'll learn through this conversation, Simon brings authenticity, vulnerability, compassion and openness to the table, each and every time we talk. You can connect with Simon via Twitter here, and check out all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode here.

In today's episode we have one of my favorite people on this planet as a special guest. My best friend, clinical psychologist Verena Kacinskis is with us to talk about the wounds behind perfectionism, psychological defence mechanisms and what they are, whether perfectionism works as a distraction or a way to control. Verena shares how perfectionism begins to appear in her life and how to catch herself before it takes root (list makers, you're going to LOVE this story), as well as how to come down from a spiral of perfectionism when we're in it. We talk about whether there is ever a prize at the end of the tunnel with perfectionism, and we get to peel the layers of the onion, talking about the deep wound that is at the center of most human suffering. Verena Kacinskis is a clinical psychologist and researcher. For the past 13 years, she has been integrating the concepts and techniques from Psychology and a healthcare system called BodyTalk, seeking to deepen and expand therapeutic results for her patients. Currently, she has been splitting her time between seeing patients and developing content to both educate and encourage self-observation, always with the premise of sharing resources that people can use in their own internal organization processes. For all the links to Verena's work and the resources mentioned in today's podcast, click here or visit brownble.com/blog