Thought For Food Podcast

Sonya Looney on Ultra Mountain Bike Racing, Being Brave, and Plant-Powered Adventure

I've been super excited to share this episode with you for a long time. This week, I sit down with the charismatic, inspiring, and compassionate Dr. James Rouse. Dr. James is the co-founder and formulator of the plant-based nutrition company, Healthy Skoop, entrepreneur, athlete, champion of gratitude and wellness, and most importantly: the Chief Ruckus Maker. Dr. James is seriously one of a kind, and you'll quickly feel his passion for everything he does in the conversation. We covered an expansive array of topics, from his childhood to finding his spiritual path in the Himalayas to his thoughts on exercising by feel as an Ironman athlete. We delve into meditation, morning routines, doing epic shit, gratitude and above all: having the courage to follow your passion and make an impact on the world. This was easily one of the most energetic and inspiring conversations I’ve had in my life, let along on this podcast, so I really hope you enjoy it. I deeply respect this man, and consider him a mentor and a friend, and someone that pushes me to live more intentionally and compassionately, so it was an honor to have the chance to throw down on TFF. I originally recorded this interview for the Skoopcast, Skoop’s own podcast (which I also host), but felt compelled to share it with all of you on TFF. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to reach out with any comments! I'm currently in the heart of the Italian Alps, in Bormio, riding bikes and doing epic shit with my friends Gruff and Ian. We're crushing the mountains in an effort to raise awareness for the power of a plant-based lifestyle to not only avoid unnecessary suffering towards animals and our planet, but to fuel adventure and high level fitness. You can check out videos from the trip by subscribing to Thought For Food TV on YouTube! We are also raising money for Mercy For Animals so any donations are greatly appreciated. Thank you to everyone who has been tuning into the show. We just hit 200k downloads on the podcast, and we couldn't be where we are today without your support every week. Hope you enjoy today's episode, and see you back here again next week! -Jackson Are you enjoying the podcast? You can support our free content by sharing it with friends and family if you feel like they could get something out of our message. It would also help us out a ton if you left a quick review on the iTunes store, it really helps the podcast grow and reach more listeners (and it only takes 5 min)! If you want to go above and beyond, you can kick us some change by pledging your support on Patreon each month, which is a recurring crowd funding site dedicated to creators like us! It allows us to keep putting out the free content that you're used to, but helps us to invest more money into improving the quality of the show through better equipment (every penny we make on Patreon goes to bettering our setup to make the content better for you!). If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the new episode right as it comes out. Also, subscribe our YouTube channel, Thought For Food TV...

Dr. James Rouse on the Power of Plants, Gratitude, and Unlocking Your Flow State

In the spirit of the current TFF theme of epic cycling, as well as celebrating the first week of the Tour de France, this week's show is with professional cyclist, Toms Skujiņš. Toms races for Team Cannondale-Drapac, and originally hails from Latvia, beginning his cycling career as a mountain biker, quickly finding his feet and a talent for the sport. He then shifted to the road, racing at multiple world championships for Latvia and reaching a high level, turning professional in 2011. He's won the overall title at the Tour de Beauce, two stages of the Tour of California, the overall UCI America's Tour title, and has competed in the Olympics. Unfortunately, this year, he suffered a crazy crash in stage 2 of this year's Tour of California, where he broke his collarbone and sustained a concussion. We caught up for this conversation right before he made his comeback to racing, placing second in the Latvian National Time Trial Championships. This is a bit of a different conversation than normal on the podcast. Toms isn't vegan but is focused on eating well for performance, and is interested in a plant-based lifestyle. Instead, this episode is about what it's like to live at the top level of the sport of cycling, how he approaches training and racing and his philosophy, and his account of the crash that went viral at the Tour of California this year. I always love tapping into the mind of professional athletes to hear about how they work and how they balance everything - from the training to the competing to the recovery, and we went through all of this with Toms. I had the pleasure of riding with Toms the day before this interview, and I'm proud to call him a friend. Definitely be sure to follow him on Twitter and give him some words of encouragement as he makes his return to the peloton! Hope you enjoy the episode. I am currently writing this post in Chambery, France, the second stop on the Vegan Alpletic trip with my friends Gruff and Ian, where we're riding Europe's most epic climbs on our bikes and raising money for Mercy For Animals. Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel to catch up with the vlogs from the adventure, and check out our donation page to support the amazing work of Mercy For Animals. Hope everyone has an awesome week, so go eat some plants, and do some epic shit. -Jackson Show Notes Connect with Toms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tomashuuns On Instagram: https://instagram.com/tomashuuns Tour of California crash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2OnYxaEtD4&t=13s Team Cannondale-Drapac: http://slipstreamsports.com/ Follow TFF: Facebook.com/TFFlifestyle Instagram: @tfflifestyle YouTube Channel: Thought For Food TV Support TFF: www.patreon.com/thoughtforfood Twitter: @TFFlifestyle Follow Jackson on Strava: 

Professional Cyclist Toms Skujiņš on Life in the Peloton, Training Philosophy, and Crashing

Jackson, Ian, and Gruff check in before their first ride of the #VeganAlpletic trip and talk about the travel so far, the plan, and the goals of the trip. Let the ride begin. Donate to Mercy For Animals: donate.mercyforanimals.org/veganalpletic 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

Random Show #9

This week's show is yet another installment of our listener Q&A series, where we receive questions via email and then answer them on the show. In today's episode, we cover topics ranging from apple cider vinegar usage for reducing abdominal fat, low sex drive/testosterone, and our thoughts on animal activism. Thank you to everyone who sent in questions! I am writing this post from Tuscany, Italy, where I'm staying with my family for a week before embarking on the Vegan Alpletic trip, which is going to be absolutely epic. Be sure to follow along via our YouTube, Thought For Food TV, where I'll be posting regular vlogs from the adventure documenting our experience of riding Europe's most epic climbs on a plant-based diet and raising money for Mercy For Animals. It's hectic here right now, so I'm going to keep this post short. But I first want to recognize our recent Patreon supporters for their amazing donations towards the TFF mission. We can't do this without you, and it's hugely appreciated! Hope everyone has an awesome week, and talk to you again next week. Ciao! -jackson Are you enjoying the podcast? You can support our free content by sharing it with friends and family if you feel like they could get something out of our message. It would also help us out a ton if you left a quick review on the iTunes store, it really helps the podcast grow and reach more listeners (and it only takes 5 min)! If you want to go above and beyond, you can kick us some change by pledging your support on Patreon each month, which is a recurring crowd funding site dedicated to creators like us! It allows us to keep putting out the free content that you're used to, but helps us to invest more money into improving the quality of the show through better equipment (every penny we make on Patreon goes to bettering our setup to make the content better for you!). New shirts are LIVE! But (awesomely) we are nearly sold out. We have a limited run of a few sizes left, so go check them out! We will be making another order soon, so don't worry! If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the new episode right as it comes out. Also, subscribe our YouTube channel, Thought For Food TV. We really appreciate all the support guys, so don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter so we can engage more with all of our awesome supporters. This is such a fun thing we're doing, and it's even cooler that we are having a meaningful impact on people's lives. So thanks! If you have any questions for future Q&A episodes, drop us an email at tfflifestyle@gmail.com or by visiting the contact us page on the website. Show Notes Vegan Alpletic: http://donate.mercyforanimals.org/veganalpletic Follow TFF: Facebook.com/TFFlifestyle Instagram: @tfflifestyle YouTube Channel:

Animal Activism, Low Sex Drive, and Bean Haters?! | Q&A 008

  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 that is on a mission to help people rescue their health through plants, which is something we can certainly get behind. We talked about the Seven Pillars of the new book, how athletes should be fueling, and a bit of the behind the scenes of his business and employee seminar work with Whole Foods Market. We hope you enjoy the conversation! Just want to give a big thanks to all of our recent Patreon supporters. You are the reason we are able to keep the podcast going, because even a small amount of funds coming in each month helps us have security in upgrading our equipment, making shirts, etc. We're so grateful! -Jackson and Aaron Are you enjoying the podcast? You can support our free content by sharing it with friends and family if you feel like they could get something out of our message. It would also help us out a ton if you left a quick review on the iTunes store, it really helps the podcast grow and reach more listeners (and it only takes 5 min)! If you want to go above and beyond, you can kick us some change by pledging your support on Patreon each month, which is a recurring crowd funding site dedicated to creators like us! It allows us to keep putting out the free content that you're used to, but helps us to invest more money into improving the quality of the show through better equipment (every penny we make on Patreon goes to bettering our setup to make the content better for you!). New shirts are LIVE! But (awesomely) we are nearly sold out. We have a limited run of a few sizes left, so go check them out! We will be making another order soon, so don't worry! If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the new episode right as it comes out. Also, subscribe our YouTube channel, Thought For Food TV. We really appreciate all the support guys, so don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter so we can engage more with all of our...

Rip Esselstyn on Rescuing Your Health by Becoming Plant-Strong

      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 exercise and food and lifestyle, and it doesn't end with us. So please reach out with any suggestions, comments, concerns, or whatever you feel would add to the conversation by shooting us an email to tfflifestyle@gmail.com. Jackson is getting ready to leave for Europe this weekend, so definitely stay tuned to the YouTube channel for epic vlogs of his adventure, and don't forget to support his Mercy For Animals Fundraiser! We also added a new Patreon reward tier where you can gain access to two exclusive and uncensored, unreleased Random Show episodes of the podcast by pledging $10 or more per month! Okay, enough from us. Enjoy the show! -Jackson and Aaron Are you enjoying the podcast? You can support our free content by sharing it with friends and family if you feel like they could get something out of our message. It would also help us out a ton if you left a quick review on the iTunes store, it really helps the podcast grow and reach more listeners (and it only takes 5 min)! If you want to go above and beyond, you can kick us some change by pledging your support on Patreon each month, which is a recurring crowd funding site dedicated to creators like us! It allows us to keep putting out the free content that you're used to, but helps us to invest more money into improving the quality of the show through better equipment (every penny we make on Patreon goes to bettering our setup to make the content better for you!). New shirts are LIVE! But (awesomely) we are nearly sold out. We have a limited run of a few sizes left, so go check them out! We will be making another order soon, so don't worry! If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the new episode right as it comes out. Also, subscribe our YouTube channel,

Exercise Addiction Update

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

Random Show #8