Vegan Family Kitchen

I avoided talking about weight management for 10 years. I'm finally talking about it. Not because I had a dramatic transformation story to tell, I didn't lose 50 pounds, and I'm not selling anything. But because I'm a 48-year-old woman in perimenopause who has been intentional about weight maintenance for the past four years, and I've learned a few things worth sharing. In this video, I walk you t...

On my 48th birthday, my mom reminded me that my grandmother died of a heart attack at the same age. That conversation sent me to review my cholesterol results... and changed what I put on my plate (a little bit). I already eat a plant-based diet, exercise regularly, and don't smoke. But new guidelines from the American College of Cardiologists have shifted the target for LDL cholesterol from 130 d...

Dr. Michael Greger — physician, bestselling author of How Not to Die, and founder of NutritionFacts.org — joins the Plantwise Book Club crew for a live fireside chat focused on how he reads and writes.  In this conversation, we ask Dr. Greger how his team tracks thousands of new studies every day using PubMed alerts, a team of 100+ volunteers, and an increasing use of AI.  He shares how he activel...

Dr. Michael Klaper was raised on a dairy farm, became a physician in 1972, and spent his first decade in medicine watching his patients get sicker. Then, he connected the dots: it's the food, doc! For the past 40+ years, he has been one of the most beloved voices in plant-based medicine, reversing high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disease, and more thanks to the whole plant food die...

What if the real reason why we can't change our habits has nothing to do with willpower? Leo Babauta, creator of Zen Habits and one of the original voices on mindfulness and simplicity on the Internet, joins the Plantwise Book Club crew for a conversation that goes deep. We talk about the emotions hiding underneath our food choices, why "should" never works, and what happens when we stop running f...

Javant Benton's healthy journey started when a possibly lymphoma diagnosis shook him to his core. Pre-diabetes and high blood pressure ran in his family but he wasn't prepared for cancer. This health scare set him on a path of discovery that led to losing 80 pounds, reversing his chronic disease signs, and falling in love with whole food plant-based cooking. His Instagram is super inspiring! https...

Welcome to the first episode of the Plantwise Podcast! Host Brigitte Gemme sits down with legendary vegan advocate Victoria Moran, a 2024 Vegan Hall of Fame inductee, author of 14 books, and founder of Main Street Vegan Academy. In this wide-ranging conversation, Victoria shares: Why she'd be vegan even if it wasn't good for her health What it's like to age publicly as a vegan at 75 Her perspectiv...

Hi, it's Brigitte! After a year-long hiatus, I am back to the podcast microphone and eager to bring you deep conversations with some of the most inspiring and thought-provoking authors and creators from the plant-based world.  The Vegan Family Kitchen Podcast is now the Plantwise Podcast, reflecting my channel's shift from vegan cooking education to a broader focus on lifestyle habits that foster...

This is a goosebumps episode! You're going to LOVE this conversation with Victoria Moran, a vegan icon for over 41 years, author of 13 books, and a recent inductee into the Vegan Hall of Fame. It's an honor to have Victoria in my kitchen to share her fascinating journey from being a solitary vegetarian in the 1960s Midwest to leading the Vegan Main Street Academy. We go deep into her connections w...

How difficult is vegan and sustainable eating, travel, and living in Japan? Come in and listen as Brigitte discusses the topic with sustainable travel expert and Hiroshima tour guide Joy Jarman-Walsh, one of the forces behind Japan's sustainable travel improvements. In this episode, we cover: - Joy's journey in discovering that it was possible to be vegan and thrive in Japan - Sustainability in Ja...

Do you want to avoid suffering from swollen, achy, hot joints, feeling fatigue, or struggling with mobility? Or decrease your risk of cardio-vascular events? Those issues often associated with aging are not inevitable! Join Brigitte in conversation with Linda Tyler, author of The Plant-Based Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook and creator of GraciousVegan.com. Linda explains everything you need to know abo...

This is a can't-miss episode! Join me in conversation with Elaine Perlman, Executive Director of Waitlist Zero, an advocacy group committed to ending the kidney shortage in the United States. In this episode of the Vegan Family Kitchen Podcast, Elaine shares her deeply personal journey from embracing veganism and healthy plant-based living to becoming a kidney donor, gifting an organ to a stranger...

In this episode of the Vegan Family Kitchen podcast, host Brigitte Gemme talks with her guest, Deborah McNamara - a Vancouver-based counselor who is fascinated by the relationship between food and our connections with each other. Deborah discusses her experiences with helping adults make sense of their relationships with food and children, giving insights on treating food issues through the lens o...

Learn about plant-based baking from the professionals! In this episode of the Vegan Family Kitchen Podcast, Brigitte Gemme interviews Natasha and Ed Tatton, owners of Whistler's BReD Bakery and authors of the newly published book BReD: Sourdough Loaves, Small Breads and Other Plant-Based Baking . We talk about: Replacing dairy and eggs with whole plant ingredients (no need for the middle bird!) Na...

Most people could cook faster, waste less money and time, and be less stressed if they handle their grocery haul differently. In this podcast episode, Brigitte shares strategies for reducing food waste and cooking faster by properly storing groceries. Listen to the episode and try Brigitte's tips to get more organized in the kitchen, cook more efficiently, waste less food, time, and money, and fin...

Can there be such a thing as a blissful menopause? Every woman's experience will be different, but certain lifestyle and mindset shifts will make it a smoother ride. Brigitte's guest on the Vegan Family Kitchen podcast today is Anna Pelzer, a vegan menopause coach. She has some gentle guidance to help. In this thought-provoking conversation, Anna shares: Her journey from food photography to menopa...

Brigitte explores the idea of cooking as a form of spiritual nourishment and shares her current five rituals for a deeper and more meaningful cooking experience. These include expressing gratitude before cooking, deeply understanding the origins of ingredients, staying fully present during the cooking process, cooking with a community, and sharing the food with love. Brigitte also shares how these...

With the charismatic Jean-Philippe Cyr, delicious and comforting vegan dishes are served with a side of self-deprecating humor... or is it the other way around? Jean-Philippe, a.k.a. The Buddhist Chef, just published his most recent English-language cookbook, The Buddhist Chef's Homestyle Cooking , and we chatted about: How being from a big Quebec family influenced his cooking journey What trigger...

How to stay connected with our culinary heritage without sacrificing health? Let's talk about it with Karla Salinari, a.k.a. The Latina Health Coach and author of the recently published cookbook Abuela's Plant-Based Kitchen: Vegan Cuisine Inspired by Latin & Caribbean Family Recipes. Diving into Karla Salinari's inspiring journey, we learn about her Puerto Rican roots, growing up with a strict...

Veganic gardening is an approach to growing plants organically without any animal inputs. In other words: plant-based gardening! If you already have a garden, listen in to learn from Meg Kelly how to transition to a kinder and safer approach. If you don't already grow your own veggies, be prepared to get inspired by her hot tips to get started! Meg Kelly has been gardening veganically for 15 years...

Why not try something different, pay attention to the results, and take it from there? This Vegan Family Kitchen Podcast episode's guest, Helen C. Giles, is a colleague, cooking friend, and meal plan subscriber whose stories will encourage you to embrace experimentation and give thanks for the life and body you have now. In this conversation, we explore: The beginnings of Helen's journey into vege...

Get inspired to cook more healthy vegan Italian food with Antonia Ricciardi! Antonia trained in physics and worked in the publishing industry, but her roots in the family restaurant in Southern Italy stayed strong. In our podcast conversation, you'll learn more about:  Antonia's inspiring shift from the sciences to the culinary world, ingeniously weaving Italian flavors into her vegan dishes. Her...

How to deal with having to go down to the air raid shelter in the midst of cooking dinner? Is there even something that's good to eat when you are under threat of bombing? And how can we make cooking and eating a more meaningful experience, even under a prolonged state of emergency such as war? In this can't-miss episode of the Vegan Family Kitchen podcast, I am honored to talk about all this - an...

In this episode of the Vegan Family Kitchen podcast, I sit down with Dr. Jules Cormier, a family physician, plant-based nutrition advocate, and ninja sports athlete who shares his inspiring story of transformation, healing, and performance.  In his 20s, Dr. Cormier suffered from cholinergic angioedema, a severe condition that caused anaphylactic-like symptoms and swelling when exercising. After a...

Most people believe that they'd cook better if they had a bigger kitchen... but is that so? Kathy Davis, who runs the Eat More Plants Academy and published three cookbooks, lives in a RV and her story challenges conventional views. It's all about intention.  Kathy Davis is the CEO of VegInspired and a plant-based lifestyle and mindset coach for female entrepreneurs. I was surprised to hear that, e...