This is a full transcript of the Nirvana Sisters podcast Episode 1 How To Live A Plant-Based Lifestyle & Introducing The Nirvana Sisters - Birth Day.

Editor’s Note: Please know that this podcast transcript is automatically generated and may contain minor errors such as typos and word switches. For more information, be sure to listen to the podcast here or view our podcast episode guide.

Amy: 0:07

Welcome to Nirvana sisters, where we discuss all things health and well being to help you achieve your highest state your nirvana. Hi, I'm Amy Sherman, a marketing exec with a passion for wellness and beauty.

Katie: 0:19

Hi, I'm Katie Chandler, a former fit model that has a passion for health and fitness. We are

Amy: 0:25

sisters in law who share the same love for well being ready to sift through all the self care noise and bring you a splash of what we think is fun. So let's get started. Hey, welcome to episode one of Nirvana sisters, our first episode so we did it, we're here and we are calling this episode our birth day because it's our first episode. And it's been talking about for ever. So I'm glad we're finally here. And we doing this thing and

Katie: 0:57

it also happens to be your birthday. So happy, happy birthday.

Amy: 1:02

Thank you. So our goal was to get this taped on, get this recorded on my birthday and use that as our launch date. So anyway, let's get to it. So today's episode is talking about plant based diet. It's like the trendiest thing you feel like you hear about it from every person on Instagram, and it's just like, sort of this thing that everyone's doing, but you're like, what is it? Is it? Is it vegan? Is it? Is it

Katie: 1:30

terian, right? And Katie,

Amy: 1:34

always is up on all the health trends. She's always paying attention to her body and her well being. And so she started doing plant based. I've done it, I've been on it, I've been off of it. But I just thought this would be a good time to kind of talk through what it means because I think there's a lot of confusion out there about what it actually means and what it is. And it seems intimidating, but it's really not. So Katie, can you just tell us? Well, you know, tell us why you started. But before that, can you give us like the audience a one on one on what plant based is and what it isn't? Because I think there's just a lot of confusion.

Katie: 2:07

Yeah, sure. So plant based is not quite vegan, and it's not quite vegetarian. And the reason for that is because veganism is drawn really, it's driven mostly by people's morals and values. It's more about protecting animals and the planet. And then vegetarianism is when you still can eat some animal products like dairy or eggs. So plant based is actually the most strict form of eating as you know, plants only and that you don't allow for dairy and you don't allow for eggs. You eat more whole foods. But it's not so much about your moral compass. It's for your health. Okay, the reason why

Amy: 2:53

the fit of being good to the earth.

Katie: 2:57

Yeah, that's a bonus. The reason why it's so super popular and trendy right now is because of obviously, you know, the COVID era that we're in, people are more focused on their health and their immune system being, you know, boosted and super healthy. And the best way to do that is by eating a lot of plants,

Amy: 3:15

right? So when did you start eating plant based and take us through your journey with it.

Katie: 3:20

I started probably, like three months ago, I did it for a solid two months I for me, I was driven mostly because of gut health, I was having a lot of stomach issues from kind of eating, you know, poor diet through COVID, all the stress eating eating junk food, and a totally screwed up my microbiome, my gut, which in turn was starting to affect my immune system, and I was getting sicker and just not feeling well. So I thought it would be a good way to just kind of reset things. And I actually really enjoyed it. But it's not, it can be a little bit. It can be a little intimidating. I think that's why a lot of people don't do it.

Amy: 4:02

But where do I start?

Katie: 4:04

Yeah, and it's easier now and more accessible than it ever has been? The the, you know, the food manufacturers are on to the trend. And they're making more products, more plant based products that are whole food driven, more convenient products. So it's not as unaccessible and difficult as it once was. You don't have to cook every single meal from scratch. But it is yeah,

Amy: 4:32

yeah, no, that makes sense. And so how did you learn to eat plant base? Was it did you research was a trial and error like how did you kind of get on a routine?

Katie: 4:41

I learned to do plant based really on my own trial and error. But I also did work with a nutritionist which is highly suggested if you can because there are certain things that you want to do to keep yourself from almost getting sick before you get healthy right so we When you transition from a plant based from your standard American diet to a plant based diet, it's really important that you kind of do it slowly, maybe change out one meal at a time, so that you are not all of a sudden bombarded with a ton of fiber. Eating a lot of plants comes with an extreme amount of fiber, which is exactly what you want. That's good for you that's going to boost your immune system, it's going to bring prebiotics into your gut, boosting your gut health 70% of your immune system lives in your gut. So eating all of that fiber and prebiotics is is the reason why we are driven to the plant based diet. But if you all of a sudden go from eating very little fiber to a ton of fiber, like 1520 25 grams a day, you are going to get very bad stomach issues like of course bloating, and gas and constipation, all that stuff. So they tell you to slowly introduce it, replace one meal at a time. And then also a few other key factors are eat a huge variety of plants. It sounds daunting, but they suggest 60 varieties of plants a week, or but you have to keep in mind that's not just like vegetables, right? That's fruits, that's lagoons, that's grains. That's nuts, that seeds, tubers, like there's a white there's actually a wide variety when you look at all of the plants, what are tubers. tubers are like root vegetables, things like you know, like parsnips and rutabagas.

Amy: 6:30

Okay, so, so this is a dumb question. But can you eat eggs or you can't eat eggs,

Katie: 6:39

you can't know if you want to be truly plant based. You can't eat eggs, but there's also a great egg substitute one of the best on the market now it's called just eggs. It's made from beans. Best products right now that are on the market are just eggs is phenomenal to me from mung beans to beyond meat products. There's a little bit of like a mixed review in the vegan world on them, but they're actually really pretty clean. They're made from pea protein. So less products are being made from things like soy, which there's nothing wrong with soy, but some people handle it better than others. And there's also great things like you know, almond milk, yogurt, coconut yogurt. Cauliflower based Depp's like one of our favorites in this house is case out but it's made from cauliflower has no dairy and it's so good.

Amy: 7:23

Yeah.

Katie: 7:24

What have you tried,

Amy: 7:25

I've tried all a lot of those things. And I've done the beyond burger, which you know, and I, there's something about it, I just like I've had it. And then every time I have it, it has this taste. And I think it's the soy that I react to. And then I have the same issue with just ag but they recently took their soy out. So now I can have all of the patties and the liquid and all that stuff. And it's great. But the beyond burger for some reason doesn't agree with me, as well as some of the other ones. But I love all the cauliflower made products like cauliflower crust pizza, and all of that stuff is awesome that you're right. There are a lot of alternatives that I'm thinking about if you're going to the store all the almond milk products and coconut milk. And so can you see so the idea is you want to start small, so you want to introduce it one meal a day over what like a week's time,

Katie: 8:14

it really over a few weeks time, the slower you do it, the easier it's going to be on your system. Some people once you have like fully transitioned to eating only plants, you're still without a doubt going to have a bit of discomfort there's going to be a transitional period. Some people it goes away in two weeks. Some people it goes away in three months, I mean your body's detoxifying, right, so you've been eating animal products, you've been eating processed foods, so your body's getting rid of chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, all of these things that are added to our standard American diet. So as you're flushing that out, you're probably going to have a little bit of fatigue and not feel so great. And in the meantime your stomach's also going to be adjusting to all of this extra fiber. The great thing about the fiber though is that it is helping you flush out toxins fiber actually binds on to all those toxins in your body. Like if you have extra estrogen, it's going to flush that out of you every day, every day that you go to the bathroom. If you've eaten an appropriate amount of fiber it's going to pull all of that out which is phenomenal. If you have health issues.

Amy: 9:20

Yeah. And then so you must feel like after doing it for a few months you must feel so good and like clean and help like your skin looks great. I'm looking at you know and you just probably feel really like different.

Katie: 9:34

You do once your body adjust and you're running on what I like to call clean fuel. You feel phenomenal. You have so much energy. You don't go through a lot of the like highs and lows that you get with the standard American diet with like glycemic index jumps and everything blood sugar highs and lows. Your energy is very, very steady and I don't really know why I think my theory I could be wrong. It's a very zen energy. And I think that's because you're filling your body with a lot of like all the minerals and antioxidants and nutrients that your body is supposed to get. It gives you a very just xem, calm, steady state of energy. That was my favorite byproduct of it, besides, of course, it being good for the planet and my immunity.

Amy: 10:24

Yeah, and the thing is to, if you like, really think about it so simple. I mean, it's, it's foods that are coming from the earth, that they're organic. And you know, there's nothing at it. And so it's really going back to basic, which, you know, there's just so many things made nowadays with chemicals and all these extra ingredients that we don't need. And it's really just going back to basics. If you think about it, do you find that you are hungry?

Katie: 10:52

No, no. And that has, again, a lot to do with the fiber fiber is really filling. And actually you can eat, you eat a much bigger up larger portions that are more nutrient dense, but less calorically dense. So you get really full eating buckets of vegetables, it's what it can feel like you're eating, I mean, very small calories. That's why a lot of people that eat plant based diet are pretty lean, too. So if if somebody's trying to lose weight, it's phenomenal for that. It also is phenomenal for people that have diabetes, hypertension, you can literally reverse type two diabetes, within weeks of starting a plant based diet, you can lower your cholesterol levels. It's phenomenal for just kind of doing an overhaul on your body and getting you into your peak performance your peak state.

Amy: 11:47

I love it. You're nirvana. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think the key is, and I probably didn't do this, well, when I tried to eat plant based, it's really taking your time and doing it for the long haul versus just like all of a sudden being like, I'm gonna be plant based. And I'm going to do this for a couple of weeks. Like, I think it's more about taking your time. Like, if you're trying to lose weight, one would say, you know, you need to do that over months time. It's just like, if you want to go plan pace, it sounds like you need to do it over time. So your body adapts, and you it's like a gentle ease into it versus just like, oh, let me just switch real quick and try to do something. So I think that's an important lesson. I mean, I have done Sokar life, which you know, for, I don't know, probably the last year or so. And I actually love it. I started doing it because I wanted to eat more plant based and I had read about it and might heard amazing things about it. So I tried it and I love it. I just don't get it every week anymore. I used to get it every week for a while. But then it was just I stopped and then all this pandemic stuff and I just kind of took a break and now I kind of get it maybe once or twice a month. But for anyone who's listening who has thought about Sakara life I know Katie, you're probably gonna try it at some point. I mean, you're plant based now. But the thing was Sokar life is, I think if you transition to plant based, it's great, but the thing was Sokar life is the recipes are so amazing. I could never make them at home. And every time I get a meal from them, it's so nutrient dense and rich like to the point you're saying like you know, I'm so full after every meal. It's amazing that I just had like all plant based meal I mean, it's so like, satisfying and so flavorful. I was talking to Katie already our vacation this summer and I was just saying like You're like eating and enjoying it so much because the recipes that they put together are just so flavorful and yummy and like you feel like you're getting really good nutrients and you just feel so good on that like I'm every time I have Sokar I'll do it for a week I'm not bloated, I feel like hype so much energy. So for anyone listening who has wanted to try it, I highly recommend it I it's a great way to kind of start to transition I do it sometimes like three days a week so I'm just like slowly introducing plant base. I just haven't gotten fully plant based yet even though I'd like to just because I don't know I haven't gotten

Katie: 14:09

better at doing it right that's that's the right way to do it as you're slowly kind of

Amy: 14:14

Yeah, I go through phases with it. But anyway Sokar is great. They have like a beautiful website and gorgeous photography. But not only that, the the the product is really really good really fresh. It comes in a like box with frozen ice packets and then you take it out and you just it's really great because everything's labeled for each day based on freshness and like they want you to eat certain things Monday versus Wednesday, and then everything's labeled and all the containers that they're in are nesting so it's really easy to put in your fridge. So anyway the the meals are great, the granola is great. Everything about it is amazing. I'm obsessed. I'm getting

Katie: 14:53

they get really creative with the recipes right like things that you somebody might want to cook at home, it's probably a bit too much because they have so many different ingredients and the way that they pair them. It's really special. The meals are it's like dining at an excellent restaurant. Right, exactly.

Amy: 15:14

That's a good comparison. 100%. And so it's really a treat. And the thing that I also like about it when I first started secara is I was like, oh, what's the calories? what's the, what's the macros, and I was like, all crazy with that. And I called and they're like, we don't really share that. I mean, we can tell you, you know, it has X amount of protein per meal, and whatever, but they're more like, it's more about the nutrients you're getting. And it's really have the mindset of not thinking about that stuff. And not thinking about the macros and the carbs, because it doesn't matter. If you're eating plant based and really good, fresh, organic from the ground, food, Whole Foods, then all of that stuff doesn't matter, because you're going to feel good and feel fit. And Sue the philosophy is a bit different. So highly recommend this plant based idea. Katie is definitely more of an expert than I am. But it's really interesting to hear about it. And I just wanted Katie to kind of talk through it on this episode, because it does feel like a trend. And I don't really think it's a trend. I think it's just something that people have been doing for years is now just more people are talking about it. But I mean, if you think about it, it's very simple. It's probably how our parents ate back in the day when there wasn't all these like crazy, packaged foods. So it's really just like simple Whole Foods, which is really back to basics. So I love it. All right, moving on something that we want to do in every episode, which is oh, you know what, before we do our nirvana of the week, or our favorite moment of the week, I forgot there was something I wanted to share with Katie I was waiting to tell her about it. So I'm a major sweets person, I'm obsessed with candy and all things bleep. And you know, I try not to eat it too much. But I'm always looking for hat. So my favorite hack are two candies that I found that one is plant base, which I will talk about first. So I'm showing Katie it's smart sweets, which is their kind of tagline is kick sugar, keep candy so it only has three grams of sugar. And it's plant based. It says it on the label and it's free from sugar alcohols which it says on the label I mean ingredients. I won't go through all of them there's not many but it's like prebiotic soluble fiber from tapioca rice flour, pectin, sugar word. Is that how you say it? Yeah, chicory root fiber, malic acid, etc, etc. But anyway, it's so yummy. You can have a bunch and it's really not doesn't have a lot of calories. And the one that I'm looking at right now I'm showing Katie is called peach rings. But it's great because if you are doing plant based and you want a little treat or you want to get that something sweet, smart sweets highly recommend love and then the other one, I have actually had the gummies they're delicious. Yeah, like I love it. Now they're coming out with like sweetness fish and all this stuff. So it's like if you're gonna eat candy, right? It's like, it's so much better for you. Totally. And then there's another brand that's new and emerging. I went to brand week a few weeks ago and it's called behave I'm showing Katie I have a little postcard that they sent me they sent me some samples. And it's a really cheap brand. It's called behave with like a slash in between the behave it's eat behave.com You can order it online. And these are gummies I don't think they're plant based yet. I think I was going through the ingredients with Katie earlier and they're not plant based, but they are low sugar. Same idea. With Smart sweets, and I think they're it's made from monkfruit. But there was something in it.

Katie: 18:34

It was a jello. Gelatin is deceiving, but it's made from collagen, which is an animal product.

Amy: 18:40

Yes. So I think this brand is probably working on a plant based version. But it's a new kind of emerging fun brand. And this one tastes a little bit different than smart, sweet, smart sweets. Kind of tastes like regular candy, which is great. And this one is more of like a gourmet type candy like it's made by chefs. So it's a little bit of a different spin. So smartsuite is kind of like your basic candy. But this one's like, really Gourmet and curated by chefs. So the founder partnered with some chef she knew in New York and put together this candy but it really feels like or may and my thought and

Katie: 19:16

what are teas and Oh, candy.

Amy: 19:18

That's exactly right, perfect word and it's really indulgent. So I highly recommend it. I'm gonna get some more of it. Because from a sugar standpoint, it's really low in sugar. So that's my my two favorite product reviews of the week. That was great. Okay, so the last thing we wanted to do before we sign off is just to talk about our nirvana of the week. So our high point of the week. So I'll start and my high point is actually today because it's my birthday, and we got to record our first podcast and I'm so happy about it. We've just been talking about this idea for so long. So I'm finally glad we got to do it and it's on my birthday and it's super fun to spend time with Katie and talk to you every week and I'll pass it off to you Katie. What's What's your no nirvana of the week?

Katie: 20:01

Well, I have to say not to be too unoriginal or anything but it's mine is totally my nirvana. It's so fun to be able to talk to you and to just be creative and express ourselves and it's great and I'm so excited and looking forward to everything that it's going to become and and yeah, and then I have one little other Nirvana which I'm think you'll think is funny was when I was on my way home from dropping my seven year old Madeline off at school this morning, my two year old Reese asked me to put Madonna on the radio. I was pretty impressed with that. And that gave me a little nerve on there.

Amy: 20:38

That's so cute. I love that receipt girl. Anyway, thanks, everyone. Thanks, friends for tuning into today's episode. For more information on this episode, check out our show notes and find us at Instagram at Nirvana sisters, and if you liked what you listened to, or you know someone that you think would like it, please share we are just starting and we're loving all of the feedback that we've already started to get and we just want to break things down and make them real and that's it. So tune in next week for a fresh new episode of Nirvana sisters, and we'll continue to watch out for all things wellness so you don't have to. Bye.