Radhi Devlukia: #1 Reason You Are Tired After Lunch & The Simple Change You Can Make to Avoid the 3 PM Slump

39:44You have to see if when I'm waking up, and if I'm hungry straight away, your digestive system is ready to eat. If you're waking up and you're like, I could go another three hours without eating, test out, test that out for yourself. And so there are certain body types where especially if you're quite a slim build, you lose weight quite often, quite easily, you generally are quite ravenous and hungry all the time, you probably need to be having your meals regularly. And if your digestion is suffering when you don't, that's an indication that you need more regular meals. For me, if I end up skipping a meal, my body actually is good with fasting.

40:21And it actually feels better sometimes and less lethargic when I do do that. So sometimes I will last off like two meals and I'll be okay with it. but I think um yeah there's there's so much where it's like intermittent fasting is amazing and then someone does and they're like I felt awful but like they said it works for me but I feel so bad doing it then don't do it it's not for your body type the active participant thing keeps coming up in my mind but it is work to figure out yourself just like when you're figuring out your partner and you're figuring out you know your relationship with them your body is the same it's waiting for you to listen and learn from it and and it will tell you what it needs yeah and I think what's been my personal experience is that when you don't listen to these smaller initial warnings the body just gets louder and harder and harsher and we think there's something wrong with our body when actually your body's been doing the right thing all along which is telling you to be an active participant and listen to me it's like your partner that just gets louder and louder and louder if you're not listening or your alarm clock gets louder and louder and louder when you're not listening you're not waking up yeah exactly and so your body's trying to get you to do the same thing yeah yeah all right one question i want to ask you is on a busy day what's one practice you can implement to make sure you slow down what's one thing you do and one thing people could do because i feel like eating fast it sounds like drinking fast we we do a lot of things fast and that seems to cause a lot of issues for me because as you know my mind the way i talk everything is quite this and then this and then this and I'm all over the place and so I can relate to being someone who's very fast-minded and constantly feeling like I'm all over the place I have to just say breath work again breath before you eat take three breaths before you go into something that you're worried about take three breaths like really feel deep breaths going into your body because we take such shallow breaths your breath is the anchor between your mind and your body it brings you back into your body.

42:22It allows you to reconnect with yourself. And so it sounds really simple, but I guarantee you like take a breath right now, like take a breath and feel what happens to your body. It automatically slows down. Every time I've gone from in this podcast, from where I'm speaking fast, I've taken a breath and then I slow down. I've taken a breath and I've slowed down. And so my cure to having a fast mind and having the habit of being like that has been just taking a breath. And it's like as simple as it gets, right? Like breath is there for you. It's ready to be used and navigate your emotions, your day and help you in some way if you allow it to.

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44:14Equal housing opportunity. yeah definitely it's a great natural tool that's built into the body yeah in order to help you set a pace for life oh my god that's so true and if you think about it every single one of your emotions is monitored by breath like when we're nervous and we're anxious our breath gets shallower and quicker yep and when we're calm and focused our breath becomes deeper and slower and when we're stressed or we're under pressure or we're late for something and we're worried our breath gets shallower and gets quicker yeah exactly when you're feeling like you're in the right place and you made it on time and all of those things your breath gets deeper and slower again and we also I've always said to people we also say things like that takes my breath away like when something's really beautiful it's breathtaking and we also say things like let me just catch my breath or let me take a breath because it's linked to our emotions and so we've learned to realize that our breath changes but we haven't learned to realize we can change our breath yeah and what you've just described is you can choose to change your breath totally in order to feel a way you want to feel i completely agree yeah you can really navigate your emotions through it like i think about when i'm crying like depending on how i'm crying my breath changes completely you know if you think but when you see someone really intensely crying, they're breathing so shallow, they're feeling so overwhelmed and suddenly their breath is getting faster, they can't even speak because they can't, you know, they can't catch their breath to actually say something.

45:51And so, yeah, breath can navigate your emotions, your day, your mind, everything. What's something you've changed your mind about this past year when it comes to your mindset around health or the way you eat food? protein i grew up vegetarian and um my sources of protein being from indian family as well was lentils and beans and um you know those are actually the main sources for us and then um when i started learning more about while i was working out and the amount of protein my body needs you know my book i talk about how the average american i think it was something like has over 75 % more protein than they need.

46:35So there's one side where because of the foods that people are consuming, they're actually overeating on protein to a point where it can harm your body. But then I find with vegetarians and if you're plant-based, you actually can get the right amount that you need. And I've been managing to do that, but it does take a little bit more work to navigate and get it into your food. But I've noticed what a difference it's made. Like everything from hair fall, hair shedding, when I started increasing my protein my hair was shedding less my skin was getting better I was feeling more satiated and more full in my meals because sometimes I realized my meals were focused so much on carbohydrates that they were being digested so fast and I was hungry even though I had such a large meal I was still hungry so often and then I started introducing protein and I could last 3-4 hours 5 hours between my meals and I felt satiated I felt the same way it's changed everything Right.

47:29It's made such a difference. And so, you know, some of the, for anybody who's plant-based or thinking about having more plant-based days and they want protein, I would say, obviously, beans and lentils are great sources of that. But then also, you know, I kind of want to dispel the myth around tofu being bad for you because there have been so many studies that have been done. Yes. To say that when you have, you know, they talk about soya and how it affects your hormones and your estrogen levels. Those studies were done on people who are having such an excessive amount of soya it was like imagine having five or six blocks of soya every single day and so blocks you mean i mean like blocks of tofu let's say so naturally anything in excess not chunks large blocks large blocks yeah anything in excess of course that's going to cause negative effects on your body everything has that there's a there's anything in excess even water in excess you can have too much water and so i would say that if you are health having a healthy um natural amount of of tofu or soya in your diet it's not going to affect your hormone levels and I mean I'm happy to share the studies at some point you know about about that but I've really researched it because I was scared of it too so soya is a great source of it another great source is from your nuts and your seeds hemp seeds flax seeds like you know in two tablespoons I think there's nearly like six grams of protein now you may think that's a small amount but you add that into a few dishes every single day um like throughout the day and you can gain so much from it um and then obviously you've got your your meat alternatives which do have that i try to avoid that as much as possible and get it from natural means um but there are so many great ways to get protein into your diet and it that that for me this year has been i've really been focusing on that and it's been a game changer yeah it's amazing i felt the difference as well for sure i think it's been huge what's the biggest change you've made in your health journey that has changed your relationship with food?

49:24Eating to make my body feel good, not look a certain way. Because I realized that, you know, a lot of my book is, is to do with the journey I've had to go through with food, where I remember when we met, I was so conscious about the way that I was being perceived. and the way my body looked that I would want to eat a way that I thought made me look better. And especially this last year, the last couple of years, I've been trying to improve my relationship with food because I didn't realize how much it was impacted by the way I wanted to look versus the way I wanted to feel. You know, a lot of the recipes in this book and a lot of the things that I've shared are helping people to connect back to their body, but create a better relationship to understand that food, like you don't have to choose between food that, um, between food that makes you feel good and food that brings you joy.

50:25Food can be both. And you can learn how to do that and the way to cook to make it make you feel that way. Like we normally associate, if I want to look a certain way, I have to eat salads and things just leaves. And I can't have any fun when I'm eating because anything that brings me joy is going to be bad for me. Like it's going to be something that doesn't make me look a certain way. But actually how you feel when you're eating and how you feel in your life is so much more satisfying when you nurture that versus constantly living to figure out how you're going to change the way you live externally.

51:03Both can be true. You can want to change your external body, but at the same time thinking about how is my inside feeling too. And doing both at the same time is possible and will make you feel so much better. I was listening to something today and it was talking about self objectification. And it was really interesting because it was talking about how we view ourselves constantly as other people view us. We live our life as other people view us. So for example, on this podcast, I may be thinking, how am I going to sit in a way where I'm going to look the most flattering? And how am I going to like move my body in a way where maybe they don't get the bad side of me and so you're constantly living through other people's perception of you essentially objectifying yourself and so I feel like having a better relationship with food has allowed me to care less about those things and and live from inside out rather than outside in does that make sense so powerful yeah so powerful And that requires so much courage and going against the grain because society has conditioned us to think a certain way.

52:10Like I remember years and years and years ago, I remember walking through a department store and the line above the kind of billboard above the makeup section said, get the natural look. And I just found that hilarious because I was like, you obviously already have the natural look. I'm not saying there's anything against makeup. I have no issues with it. I'm good with it. It's great. It's just, it's interesting how it's being sold to us. And so we're being convinced that the natural isn't good enough, or there's a way to be more natural. And each to their own, everyone's allowed to do whatever's right for them.

52:45But I think the more we live our life through the lens of, will people think I look good like this, we'll always be disappointed because there are some people who think you look good. And some people who think you don't. Like we talk about this a lot with fashion, like I really enjoy fashion. Yeah. but when you see my fashion choices you're like i'm not sure what you're doing mate and then and then everyone else would think it looks great but the point is i'm doing it for myself yeah totally that's the only person that you can ever do it for because it's so hard to win like you could have everyone think you're amazing and one person think you're not or the other option where everyone thinks you're crazy and one person thinks you're amazing and at the end of the day the one person you need to feel that way is you yeah right that's that's what i'm hearing yeah totally and you kind of rob yourself of experiences like um I was talking to uh Liz Moody I was talking to this guy and she was saying how you know when you go to the beach and you look into the sea and you see the the sand underneath you and you're like you're thinking oh I want to go into the ocean but I'm a bit worried about what people are going to think about me in this swimsuit I've had that I've I've robbed myself of so many experiences we've gone to pool parties and I've been I'm not getting in the pool.

53:55Like, just so you know, I'm not going to get in the pool right now because I don't feel comfortable. And I've robbed myself of so many experiences where she was like, think about when you're 80 years old and you look back at those experiences and you're, are you going to say to yourself, so glad I didn't get in the pool that day because they would have seen my cellulite. Or are you going to think, I'm so glad I jumped into that ocean and I felt that ocean around me and I created these memories and I felt the sand beneath my feet and I had the experience. and so I've really been thinking about that a lot more of like having the experience because whenever I've gone into situations where I'm constantly consumed by other people's view of me I've not been present I barely remember the event I barely remember where I've what I've been doing or where I've been like there's so much so such lack of presence which doesn't allow me to even experience what I want to and I feel like that's kind of changed throughout the time I'm still working on it but it's it's definitely um yeah all of that fuels into everything like it really it really changed the way I was eating and connecting to my body too yeah I think you've also found this and this is why I'm excited for people to get the book is that you've found a way to make healthy food really tasty yeah I always say that to you like I find it so easy I'm so lucky to have you and I always say that to everyone when everyone's like oh wow you live a really healthy lifestyle I'm like you don't know who I'm married to right like and it's and now it's almost It's like everyone gets to have you in their kitchen through the book where they can also feel that way and feeling confident that when you're cooking for your family, that you don't have to sacrifice taste in order for it to be good for you.

55:29Exactly. And a big part for you with that is the spices and the herbs that you talk about. So walk us through what you're fascinated with spices. I am. Our nickname for you is Spice Girl. Yeah. And because of that, like in the actual sense, like what walk us through the value of spices and why they make food flavorful and good for you. I'm so glad you asked me because it's literally my favorite topic about this book. Spices have, you know, been a part of our life, our whole life, because I remember even when we were younger, I would be I'd be coughing and sneezing. and my mom would use spices in water to like boil a tea with spices to help me with that.

56:10Or, you know, when you get a cut or a bruise, our parents are getting out this turmeric patty and like putting it onto our scabs. And, you know, we grew up with that, but I didn't realize the power of them until I started studying the medicinal potency and benefit of them. And so, yes, they make your food taste and look vibrant. Like it's amazing. You can take like a humble potato and you can mix different spices together and taste different parts of the world through just the spices you're using. So spices not only take you to different parts of the world and help you to experience different cultures and cuisines, they also allow you to buy really basic ingredients and elevate them and make them feel so different every single day.

56:51And the benefits of spices, oh my goodness, well, you know this, for the past, I don't even know how long, 10 years, I've used spices in my medicine box. Spices have been my go-to. If I have a headache, essential oils and spices. If I have a headache, what do I go to? Yeah, your essential oil. My peppermint oil. Like if I have a cough, what do I tell you I'm going to make you? Udge wane seeds in water. And I have found when I've allowed my body to rely on natural means to heal itself. And what I mean by that is like the spices, the oils, whatever I'm using, the food that I'm eating, my body's immunity has gotten better and better.

57:24the way that my body reacts to being in stressful environments has changed because I've allowed my body to heal itself through what I'm actually putting into my body and so I actually have feel my best when over the past few years progressively as I've done that and it's so easy because all you have to do is there's spices you can buy ground or whole or in mixes of blends that you can just add in you don't even have to think about it you can put it into your hot water in the morning. My one of my favorite things is CCFT, coriander, cumin and fennel tea. Easy way if you're not used to using spices at all, even if you don't cook at home, add these three spices in equal parts, a teaspoon of each into hot water.

58:06Beautiful way to add in spices without you even having to do much. And then experiment with your food become like a play in your kitchen. I really think you know, the book is not prescriptive. I actually want you to use the book and the recipes to play in the kitchen and sub things out. And I've got so many things where I'm like, if you don't have this, use this. If you don't have this, use this. Because nothing about food has to be prescriptive. And so spices are a really fun way to do that. So yeah, one of the huge intentions and goals with my book is for you to have a spice cupboard that is full and over full by the time you get to the end.

58:43And I've got a chart in there to tell you what the benefits of them are, how you can use them to your medicinal benefit, but also to make a food taste way better. Yeah, I think that's really important that you've got so many charts and graphs and things to make it really easy in the book for anyone to understand because a lot of people may be thinking, God, I've never really used that many spices. I'm not really aware of them, but you've actually made that really simple and accessible. And then I'm like, pick a spice a week and play with it. Pick a spice a week, add it into different things. Like nutmeg, add it into your milk at night.

59:16Nutmeg is a mild sedative. It helps with sleep. in the morning for your digestion you know for centuries indians have eaten fennel seeds after their meal it's a tradition you go to an indian restaurant you go to an indian house they will be passing around fennel seeds after their meal that's because it is amazing for gas for bloating for digestive relief after you've eaten and so like try out fennel seeds and your you know water in the morning this so pick one thing you don't have to be overwhelmed with so many different practices and spices and things in the book pick one or two a week that you want to incorporate um and see how you like it see how your body reacts to it yeah i love that i mean you just mentioned two things there that i wanted to speak to you about people have always been fascinated with your morning and evening routines i wanted to ask you what does your morning routine look like now and why have you chosen the specific things that exist in it good question are you not part of my morning routine what do you mean you don't know what my morning routine Of course I do.

1:00:14What is my morning routine? I don't know what happens before I wake up. That's true. So I wake up in the morning and brush my teeth and also use my tongue scraper, which by the way is an Ayurvedic ritual that if you don't do, that is a must. You don't know how clean your mouth can actually be if you haven't used a tongue scraper. It's also really important to remove toxins that have built up over the night because that's the time your body starts to clean up and take away the toxins and one place that they come out is on the top of your tongue. And so tongue scraping is a must. And then I make my CCFT in the morning, sit down for my meditation.

1:00:51And I have mantra meditation practice, as you know. And that's usually for about an hour and a half mixed in with breath work to help me refocus and keep bringing my mind back to my practice. And then I usually get ready for my workout go for my workout and that's a ranges from monday wednesday friday a weight workout i love weight training it really helps to build strength and i feel confidence in my body the other days i'll either do running or like a heated yoga class other things that help also stretch out my body because i find weight training kind of shortens your muscles whereas pilates and yoga really helps to lengthen them it's kind of a mix of both and then i'll come back get ready and then what else do i do oh then i eat my breakfast yeah what do you usually have what do i normally have for breakfast so at the moment i'm trying to do savory breakfast after listening to glucose goddess um and really trying to incorporate more savory foods and i prefer savory breakfast anyway so i do everything from a sourdough toast um with some sort of protein on it so either like having a good amount of hummus with lots of veggies i'll put like tomatoes and cucumbers um maybe doing and i'll sprinkle some sort of spices on top so whether it's you know toasted coriander seeds um or cumin powder and then um a bit of hot sauce because i just love hot sauce and then i'll have that or i've been having these like protein bagels you know topped with the same kind of thing and then i'll have a protein shake afterwards so what about your lunches when you don't want to feel lethargic after your lunches because so often we struggle to know what to eat because we still have a few hours of work left like what do you do for your lunches what do you enjoy?

1:02:31Yeah, I try to keep it balanced in the sense of I will still have a carbohydrate at lunchtime. And by the way, our body is so in sync with nature. And our digestion is the strongest when the sun is at its highest. And so the sun is at its highest naturally in the middle of the day. And so our lunch should actually be our largest meal of the day, ideally, because that's when our digestion is the strongest, it's able to digest like the heavier things that we want to eat. and so I will have like a larger portion of my carbohydrates if possible in the afternoon and then I will mix in lots of different veggies like eating the rainbow is no joke you have to eat a variety of colors and so I will make sure that when I'm doing my shop I have a variety of vegetables with different colors because each of those colors represent different nutrients and different vitamins and minerals and so to make sure you're also getting enough of what you need in terms of vitamins, minerals, make sure that you have a variety of different colors on your plate.

1:03:27So I'll buy like pink radishes, I'll buy cucumbers, I'll buy different colored carrots and either I'll have them on the side or I'll just quickly saute them, have it with either some noodles or throw some tofu in their scrambled. Honestly, I just make sure I know the basics of like a really good way of doing it is write down where your protein is going to come from, what veggies you love eating and what carbohydrates you like and then just mix it all in. I love doing them one part thing. So I'll throw in noodles, I'll throw in my veggies, I'll throw in some tofu, mix it all up, or I'll do a scrambled, like scrambled tofu on toast.

1:03:58I just know that the areas I need to make sure I have in my meals, and then I kind of just pick and choose between, go between them and decide what I feel like and what flavors I want. And then what about dinner? Dinner. I'm walking through the whole day. I know. Oh my gosh. Dinner. I mean, you know, it can be so varied. I love, for me, a dal or a soup or like a beanie curry. I'll probably have, I wouldn't have like as much like flat bread or rice with it just because I try not to have too many carbs at night or something too heavy at night. But I love Indian spices are just my comfort food. and at night especially when it's cold outside i love having a mixed lentil like dal um and all of these recipes are in the book yeah yeah oh there's a really good like red lentil dal in there there's also my mom's uh three bean curry with coconut milk and oh it's so good so much flavor in it so yeah i'll usually do that or a one pot thing because at night you just you just want to throw everything in one thing and and not spend too much time in the kitchen and so there are so many recipes in there that are like 30 minutes um and then other ones where maybe you feel like spending a little bit more time in the kitchen and so you can spend an hour creating a beautiful meal if you have time on the weekend yeah I'm so lucky that I get to be the recipient you are the guinea pig yeah yeah I'm the guinea pig yeah all of this has been tested yeah and what about your evening routine how has that been constructed for you my evening routine is usually I try to as soon as I stop working I usually go walk for a little bit I find it really helps me to wind down I won't do an intense workout but i'll definitely walk go on the treadmill for about like 20 minutes half an hour listen to something um and then one thing that's really helped me is i don't like bright lights at night i really try to avoid bright lights it's made such a difference to my like circadian rhythm the rhythm of your body that helps with sleep artificial light really messes with that and so whether it's using candles or really keeping the lights dim that for me has helped me notice that oh wow I'm actually really tired by 8 30 or 9 and it's time for me to get into bed rather than and by the way tv has the same light and so do our phones and so for me the bright lights are too intense for me and it and it really you know messes with my rhythm of sleep so I've started using candles and stuff a lot more and then we've been trying to read a lot more and so I'll if I'm by myself I'll I'll read um sometimes watch a little cheeky show of something which might be called love island not gonna lie and then um and then oh eat dinner before that and then one of the my favorite practices which is like a self-love ritual for me is um abhyanga it's a really beautiful practice of abhyanga is yeah i talk about it in the book and it's it's um massaging your own body with oils that's as simple as it is but if you think about it how many times a day do we probably have a lot of negative self-talk and how many times a day do you give yourself a hug and like just it's literally like giving yourself a hug just as when someone's had a long day a hard day they come home and you give them a hug like you give them a cuddle and in the same way our nervous system wants us wants to hear from us and feel from us that I love you and I care about you and one of the most amazing ways of doing that is by just giving yourself a little massage and so whether it's just the bottom of your feet putting the warm oils on your hands massaging the bottom of your feet that's where all of our nerves end and so bottom of your feet or even giving yourself a little scalp massage or if you have time have a warm shower and lather your body in those oils oils actually help to lubricate your nervous system they seep into your skin they basically act as a hug for your nervous system they help to soothe your nerves at night and so that's been one of my favorite rituals that I do before I sleep um yeah and I'll do that whether it's a two minute one quickly or if I have a bit longer on weekends and I just kind of lather myself up till I'm really deep fried yeah I love it I love it no and I'm glad that we went through a whole day because I think so often we don't there was so much that just came out of that oh good in terms of like you know like what to eat in the morning why you eat certain things in the afternoon why you don't eat them at night time like we just learned so much and so many practices and again for anyone who wants to understand them more deeply they are well explained inside Joyful the book oh my gosh wait can I say one more thing of course you can I realized actually, you know, I was going through a period where I was finishing eating by 5 p.m.

1:08:18Like I wouldn't eat anything after that. And what was amazing is I was using. I hated you when that happened. Yeah, I was using a tracker. And for my sleep, I was using the WHOOP at the time. And I noticed I was getting 100%. I've never had this 100 % sleep score on my WHOOP. And it was telling me and I'd gone from being 70 % to having 100 % every single day. Wow. And it was because my body was not working while it was sleeping. And so, yeah, because when you're, when you end up eating late at night, when you're trying to sleep and your body's trying to rest and, you know, actually spend time having downtime, it's actually still working, digesting its food.

1:08:59And so you can wake up after eight hours sleep feeling so tired still because your body's actually been working half of the time to digest what you've been eating. so that was like a big like aha moment for me where I was like wow that really does make sense having lighter meals at night affects so much um including your sleep yeah I love that that's great no that's huge and that's amazing I mean to have a 30 % increase in your sleep score because your food is not being digested while you're sleeping yeah because so many of us are eating so close to when you sleep yeah a little snack a little dessert a little sugar yeah huge uh one thing i want to do i want to do something fun with your book so i'm going to ask you questions that i want you to link back to recipes that apply to those questions oh okay that's fine you can look at your book if you need to to show us but give me an example of the question there's no example we're just going straight into it so the first question i'm going to ask is if someone has a long day at work they're really tired but they do want to make a home-cooked meal what's the easiest one that they can go my rainbow noodles stir fry okay it's like super easy um what i would say is have your veggies cut up earlier then it's literally like a 10 minute meal amazing yeah it's got this really great sauce with it um you get your veggies you get everything all in one thing and it still tastes good and it feels like takeout yeah yeah okay good how do you how do you recommend people meal prep because that's an important part of all of this chopping takes up so much time my day my meals are cut down significantly when i've chopped my peppers beforehand when i've grated my cabbage when i've you know everything that you possibly can i wouldn't say to do it too in advance because as soon as you cut up a vegetable it starts to spoil and so i'd say you can cut up peppers two three days in advance um same with like carrots cabbage and stuff tomatoes go bad straight away you cut them up by like an hour later they're bad avocados as well and so there are certain things you can chop up and i recommend doing that especially if you're someone who has been wanting to eat more at home but just don't have the time to cut up your stuff in the weekend because at least that'll give you a good three four days worth of uh chopped up stuff that allows you to eat at home um and that's been a good change for me i've been so busy lately and i've still since i've got back here i'm actually so proud that i have not ordered out or eaten out once and that's that's crazy for me because i've also been yeah you've been way busier than normal yeah um but having things chopped up and also having planned what i'm gonna eat usually we end up ordering out when you're like oh i have got nothing planned and i just don't even want to look at my fridge and figure it out figuring it out is half the battle so if you already know and you already have the ingredients it makes it so much easier and then you've chopped up you've basically done half the work i love it yeah okay so let's do another scenario i've got all these scenarios okay so someone's got someone they're dating coming over for the first time second time maybe they're making them something this time what do you cook for someone to impress them from your book oh my gosh you want to show off you know good question i would say my jalapeno cheesy dough balls you know why because that was what we had them the other day they're so good you can have like there's a masala topping to go on top too but the reason i say that is because it shows that you don't take things too seriously that it's a fun dish that's like a pull apart you didn't try too hard yeah you didn't try too hard you're it's a sharing dish where you kind of pull apart the bread and um it's fun um it's also just the pop of flavor and vibrance um and also who doesn't love a good bread dish yeah like bread is life love it yeah if you've got another scenario if you've got the girls coming over it's girls night you're hanging out what are you gonna make okay so for girls night i would probably say the roasted red pepper taglitelli and then mixed with that we're not done yet yeah roasted red pepper taglitelli and then doing like the butter bean and tomato salad because you always want something a bit lighter on the side um and then having some sort of veggie side because you always need i have a whole veg hero section so i'd probably do like the zucchini baba ganousha the sweet and salty broccolini and then for dessert because for a girl's night you need dessert i have this decadent cake which is amazing it's like one of the best desserts in here i'd say um i made it the other day the triple chocolate brownie black forest celebration cake but what i do is i deconstruct it so it ends up being a brownie sundae so that would be my ultimate girl's night i love that or i do ultimate guys night oh ultimate guys night easy i would do my bean burgers okay i like that i like that i would do my bean burgers start strong yeah i then would do bean burgers with the side of my dad's mac and cheese um and then for a bit of balance i'd probably throw in some veggies which would be in the form of my golden caramelized fennel i think that'd be a nice like little refreshing side dish and then for dessert i'd probably have to go for cookies three ways that sounds good or crumble yeah i like that cookies three ways cookies three ways the crumble is amazing but yeah yeah i think for guys that yeah and last scenario date night oh what would you make me i mean i've been really lucky because friday's been testing recipes from the book every day so I've been spoiled every day.

1:14:26You know what? Date night, I'd probably go with, it depends. Is this like a - This is like a married couple who live together for a while. They want to make a special date night. I probably do like my Mexican lasagna because it's no fuss. And it's just so tasty. And then I throw in maybe like my warm, nutty superfood salad on the side. Oh, and maybe my cavallon, the sweet potatoes with cavallonero pesto. So when are we doing date night? Yeah, I mean, I can make it all tonight if you want. Straight off. And then baklava cheesecake. Oh, baklava cheesecake. Or my chocolate mud pie for you because you love chocolate.

1:15:06Chocolate mud pie. Both of those sound amazing. Ravi, I'm so proud of you. Thanks. And I am so excited, honestly, for everyone to have you in their kitchen because I'm so grateful to have you in ours. Thanks. And like you all just heard, there are obviously over 125 plant-based recipes in here and every single one of them sounds amazing. And I can truly say as someone who's eaten every single one of them multiple times, I'm not bored of them. They're incredible. And I think anyone who gets this book and cooks from it is going to invite so much joy, so much energy, so much vibrancy into their life.

1:15:40And that's what I wanted to ask you as a final question around, you know, you call the book joyful. You talked about cooking effortlessly, eating freely and living radiantly. like what is your hope for people because this isn't just about it isn't just about the recipes it's about inviting abundance and energy into their life it is three intentions one intention is reminding people that you do not have to choose between the food that makes you feel good and food that brings you joy it can and should be both um to that every that life is about all those little joyful moments to accumulate to bring you more and more joy throughout the day whether it's through your practices, your wellness rituals or through the food that you're eating.

1:16:21And three, that you fill, you spice up your life, like you fill your cupboards with the spices that spice up your body, but also spice up your food too, that really create vibrance because spices are vibrant and create more vibrance in your body and your life too. And actually, I don't know, last one, I feel like I am a seriously grateful student of many great teachers. And it really was a way for me to be able to share so much of what I've learned from the people that have taught me so much from my mom to my Ayurvedic teachers to my spiritual teachers everything I was able to accumulate that and pour it into this book and I'm so excited for people to feel the changes that I have felt in my life through everything that I've shared in there so um yeah that's my intention for it the book is called Joyful Everyone More Than 125 Plant-Based Recipes by Radhi Devlukya cook carelessly eat freely and live radiantly you know what i'm gonna say go get it right now i would mean the world to me i love supporting you not just because you're my wife but because you're so incredibly talented and so smart and i think this book is going to change so many homes families and relationships so it's definitely changed ours so thank you so much i love you Thanks for having me on.

1:17:41Congratulations. So exciting. And so excited for you. Congrats. Thanks, everyone. If you love this episode, you'll love my interview with Dr. Gabor Mate on understanding your trauma and how to heal emotional wounds to start moving on from the past. Everything in nature grows only where it's vulnerable. So a tree doesn't grow where it's hard and thick, does it? It grows where it's soft and green and vulnerable. Parking shouldn't slow you down. ParkWiz gives every driver a shortcut. Book ahead, save up to 50%, and skip the hassle of circling the block. Park smarter, park faster. ParkWiz. Download the ParkWiz app today and save every time you park.

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