Nurturing Through Nutrition: Sustainable Family Meals (with "Hey Ashley Renne!")

Ready to spice up your family meals and routines?? Join us in this new episode as we welcome back the wonderful Ashley from Hey Ashley Renne. She's not just a sustainability advocate and social media guru AND the author of a new cookbook – she's a real mom who knows the ins and outs of creating delicious and sustainable family eats in the midst of a busy schedule!

In this down-to-earth conversation, we're unpacking the art of meal planning that actually works. Ashley shares how she juggles her busy schedule as a working mom while ensuring her family gets tasty and nutritious meals.

Ashley also gets it – every family is different. While she dives into her own journey of raising a vegan child and how her family makes it work, she recognizes these routines may not work for everyone and she shares several tips & tricks to support.

Get an inside look at Ashley's weekend routine, where she crafts mouthwatering menus and makes sure her little one enjoys a variety of flavors. From batch cooking basics to versatile ingredients, she's sharing her secret recipe for making mealtime both exciting and sustainable! 

About Ashley:
"Hey y’all hey! I’m Ashley Renne and welcome to my little corner of the Interwebs! I’m a Black American and South Asian environmental & animal advocate, author, and vegan mom who pivoted from my travel influencer career in 2019 to reduce my carbon footprint and educate my community about sustainable, vegan living. As an advocate for people of color, the planet and animals, I share daily vegan lifestyle inspiration for families, plant-based menu ideas for kids, and sustainability tips... you can keep up with my work on social media and pre-order my new book: The Vegan Baby Cookbook & Guide!"

Contact Info for Ashley:

• IG: @HeyAshleyRenne 
• Website 
• YouTube

Additional Resources:

• Solid Starts - Baby Led Weaning & Toddler Support

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Transcript

Katie Kurpanek: 0:06

You're listening to all things sustainable, where we unpack topics related to sustainable living, as well as how to apply specific actions to your own life. I'm your eco living coach and podcast host Katie Kurpanek. Let's jump in. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the All Things sustainable podcast. We are in the middle of season four, talking about all things eco minded parenting and caretaking. It has been a wonderful season so far, you can go back and find any of the episodes you may have missed. The first one in this season was talking about birth. So Hypno birthing, and then since then, we've talked about breastfeeding journeys and non toxic living and just general crunchiness within your home. So if you are interested in any of that, definitely tune in to those. But today, I'm super excited to have Ashley Renne Nsonwu back on the podcast. If you tuned in to season three, where we were talking about all things vegan, you may remember having Ashley in one of those episodes along with Jen Rivera Bell. And so we really focused heavily on our vegan conversation in that season. And today's episode, although Ashley is vegan, and she is the author of the brand new vegan baby cookbook and guide that is coming out this fall, super exciting. But what she has to share today is not just for vegan families. So she really covers the sustainable aspect of what it looks like what it can look like to feed your family, to care for your family in a sustainable way. She goes into her experiences and tips and tricks for sustainable meal planning and prep, and even shopping, all these different ways that you can do that ways that you can save money in the process. She also talks a lot about the selective eating phases that our kiddos will likely go through if you have a toddler, you know what I mean? They may love something one day and then say they absolutely hate it the next. So she has a lot of wonderful tips and thoughts on selective eating. And she also talks a lot about our nutrient requirements for raising healthy families. And she expands on how it's not about a particular diet, or particular foods in general. It's really based on the nutrients that our families our kids need to be getting. So there is a lot in this episode that super exciting and impactful and it's on the longer side, but you are definitely not going to want to miss a minute. So with that being said, I am just going to move right into the episode. Two quick plugs. If I may. Before we get into this, if you would like to support the show, you can join our Patreon community and the link for that is in the show notes. It's patreon.com/all Things sustainable. That is a really helpful way to show support to the show, even just $3 a month makes a huge difference. And then you get to enjoy all the perks of being a patron like being invited to join these calls via zoom live when they're happening, asking your own questions of the speakers and so much more. The second quick plug I have for you is that I have launched recently an affiliate program for my video courses. So I have a bunch of videos on my website that minimal life.com teaching people how to live sustainably in ways that fit their lifestyle. If you would like to start promoting those video courses within your own circles, and if anybody purchases a video course using your unique affiliate link that you get 10% of that sale as commission so it is a win win for everybody. If you would like to sign up, it's totally free. The affiliate account is in the show notes as well so you can sign up there. Okay, thank you so much for listening to my two quick plugs. With that. Let's dive right into today's episode. Ashley, I am so excited to have you back on the podcast. You've been here once before if anyone is listening, and you remember from season three, Ashley Renne joined us to talk with myself and Jen Rivera Bell we were talking in that whole season was like all things vegan, and they were both sharing their perspectives from like how a vegan you know, plant based lifestyle has actually brought them even closer to their family and cultural ties and how that impacts their family. They both have young kids. So that was a blast. I absolutely love that episode. And now of course when I decided to do season four, which is all about eco minded parenting, I was like I have to bring Ashley back. This is going to be so exciting.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 4:44

Thank you for having me back again.

Katie Kurpanek: 4:46

Of course! For any listeners who are new who haven't already heard a little bit about you. Yeah, I gave a short introduction about you before but I would love if you could just share from your own perspective. You know, tell us about yourself. And the beloved people in your life and then just like what you're passionate about, maybe something, you know, things that are new or have changed since that season last year,

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 5:09

Like getting pregnant! Well, dear listeners, thank you so much for listening to this episode. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Ashley Renne Nsonwu. Yeah. And I actually started out as a travel influencer. But what happened was, the more I traveled, the more I started recognizing just how much of the world was being destroyed. And that's when my sustainability journey began, it was actually a trip to Bali, where I saw all this like, piles of piles of litter on a beach. And I was talking to my friend who was traveling with me, and she was really into sustainability. And she was like, Yeah, you know, you could throw something away like a water bottle, the United States that it could end up on the coast of Bali. And that was like, the first time like, it really hit me that Oh, wow. Like, that's what sustainability is, like. That's how pollution works. And, you know, it just sent me down this rabbit hole of trying to learn everything I could about environmentalism. And that was 2015. So 2015, you know, started my sustainability journey. 2016 completely unrelated to sustainability at the time, you know, that or so I thought, but I went vegan, not for environmental reasons, but because I love animals. So I went vegan in 2016. A year later, that's what I learned about the connection between sustainability and veganism. So I ended up just completely going away from travel. So like, around 2019, I rebranded my entire platform, from travel focused content, to teaching people about sustainability, and you know, my vegan lifestyle and like helping people learn how to read in a relatable way, pursue these same types of lifestyles. And it has been so fulfilling, I cannot tell you how fulfilled I have felt since then, in terms of making my platform or building my platform around my values, versus just an interest that I had. It's just, it's taken me to places that I never expected, even the White House, which was, yeah. It's taken me to different, it's opened so many doors for me to be able to have conversations and have so many people educate so many people. And to kind of, not just be, you know, an influencer, but just somebody who's actually like out there trying to educate as well. And it's been beautiful. It's just been such a beautiful journey. And I think things got even more interesting when I got pregnant with my first child, Beyond, that was 2021, when I gave birth to him, and I started sharing what he eats in a day, maybe wouldn't get a little bit older, like around when I started sharing what he eats in a day. And the videos just blew up and went viral. And before I knew it, I was a mom blogger. I was a vlogger, because I don't blog. But you know, on social media and my whole platform was really, it became even more niche and more niche specific to helping families in particular, learn how to live a more sustainable lifestyle, like live a vegan lifestyle, and that has just opened even more doors, I just never would have expected so that's who I am. That's kind of a little bit about my backstory in a nutshell, the fast version, and just really excited to be a part of your season where you talk about eco parenting.

Katie Kurpanek: 8:59

Yay, thank you so much. Yeah, I I've been following your like social media journey for a while I don't even remember when I first found you. So it has been a few years, I think. And you built such a strong presence. And you're like the queen of pivoting with like your brand is going this direction that it needs to go this direction. And you know, you're on like YouTube and Pinterest and Instagram and Buzzfeed and all these places. But I've especially loved following your Instagram journey just because you've built such an incredible community there and like I love the engagement that happens within your posts as well which is totally, you know, attributed to the way that you lead that platform and the way you interact with people. So I feel like you're spreading such incredible education on a whole variety of things, and I'm very thankful for that.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 9:49

I appreciate that. Instagram is definitely my favorite platform. I started out as a YouTuber and I thought that was gonna be my platform I was gonna be in and then somehow just everything took off on Instagram and the community on there has just been so incredible and supportive. And the questions that they ask, you know, are just they mean so much to me, because it shows that they're really interested in learning. So Instagram has definitely changed my life in a great way.

Katie Kurpanek: 10:16

I love that. And for anyone who hasn't already followed you on Instagram, I mean, if you're listening to this, you should literally like hit pause, go follow Hey Ashley Renne right now. But, um, if they missed that whole bit about you going to the White House, I would love if you could share about that, because that was super exciting. I loved like everything you were posting about it. And that's such a huge thing that happened to you.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 10:41

I appreciate it. It was I was shocked. I think I still remember when I first got the message. It was from a climate organization that I'm on the board, for, it's called Climate Power. And I can like everything, just when you when you pursue your passion, especially when it's very like value centered. I just feel like there's just like this huge domino effect where, you know, the universe literally just makes things happen for you in a way that you would have never expected. I mean, the fact that I ended up on the climate board that led to me being invited to the White House, that then led to me being invited by the Vice President Kamala Harris's office to go meet her in person in Atlanta. I mean, the doors, like I said, just doors upon doors and upon doors, doors opening that leads to more doors that lead to more doors. So I remember when I got the email was very, like short notice, you know, if I was still a travel content creator, that probably would have never happened, because when I was a travel content creator, I was never here. But it just so happened that, you know, they were like, Hey, can you be at the White House? Like, in a few days, or whenever it was? And I was like, Yeah, I'll be there, I'm not doing anything. I most certainly can. And so basically, the thing about the White House that I will say, I'm really fascinated by is this particular administration, the Biden administration, they're taking a different approach to working with media, you know, versus, say, past presidencies, where they were very traditional. But now in this administration, they've taken a lot of strides to acknowledging the influence of content creators, and kind of utilizing them as a new form of press, which has been really cool to see like us, as content creators become more legitimized as more than just, you know, people on the platform, providing entertainment value, which, of course is very important. But you know, there's we're not a monolith. We also provide education, we provide news updates, there are so many of us that, you know, really focus on, you know, informing and educating our communities. And so to see us be taken seriously like that, to me, it was a it was a very big honor. So flew out there. And we were just cut, we were in the room, and we didn't know he was going to actually show up or Vice President Kamala Harris. We just thought we were gonna go there and be briefed on some of the legislation that was coming out regarding, you know, climate change or not changes, but climate legislation that was being implemented to, you know, spark change in the United States. But then he actually entered the room, spoke to us and we were all stunned. And then Vice President Kamala Harris was there too. So it was just, it was wild. It was a wild experience. Definitely unforgettable, and a highlight of my career.

Katie Kurpanek: 13:52

Oh, my gosh, I can't even imagine that's amazing.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 13:57

It was I was definitely thrown off guard.

Katie Kurpanek: 14:00

I bet. Gosh, that is really, really cool. though. I am so happy for like all the things you're putting out into the world. And you have a very exciting new thing coming up. That I think we're gonna say we're going to talk about that towards the end of the podcast, I want to talk about your book, your cookbook that is coming out. But before we get into all of that, I think you know, there's there's so much we could talk about, you know, this whole season we've had different experts coming in who are talking about things like you know, Hypno birthing or sustainable breastfeeding journeys and non toxic living like there's been so much just crunchy motherhood in general or Parenthood in general. And then I love that sustainable can mean so many different things to me, it's like you know, there's sustainable that's more like eco friendly green living, but also all of this has to be sustainable as in maintain do long term for the people invested in it. So we've had a lot of interesting topics throughout this season so far, that kind of combined those things. So I would love to dive deeper with you into like your sustainable sort of meal planning meal prep journey with your family, because not only is you know, being vegan and plant based, just wildly impactful for the environment. And you know, anyone who's curious about that you can go listen to season three, it is covered so much in depth in those episodes. So that's a very sustainable practice in your family. But then also, you had to build a like a schedule or a rhythm for your family that makes this sustainable for you all to like plan and prep, and you know, feed your family, the healthy, wonderful foods that you want to. So let's just dive into that a little bit. I would love to talk about how do you plan your meals? How do you make the time to do all this planning and prepping because you are a working mama. And we know that that is so busy and wonderful and challenging. So I would love if you could just maybe start there and share about that.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 16:15

Yeah, and you know, before we even dive into what I do, it's always important to acknowledge, you know, the differences and accessibility that different families have to veganism, you know, my schedule and the way we do things might not, you know, work for other families. So, you know, it's really important to find your own way and do things realistically within what you're capable of doing, right. Because, you know, not every household has a two parent household, which makes it even more difficult, I can't even imagine, you know, just how much harder it must be if you are a single parent trying to raise a vegan child, and you're working on top of that. So you know, privilege, accessibility lifestyles, everyone's different. But I will tell you what we do in our house to make it work. A large part of the reason why I'm able to be successful on this vegan parenting journey is because I have a very active and involved partner, a very supportive partner, my husband actually went plant based, not vegan, he likes to term plant based, not vegan for himself. He went plant based in late 2019, after watching a documentary called Game Changers. And that has made a big difference in our ability to, you know, cohesively, and be on the same page, raise our child, because he understands how to cook vegan meals, and he understands how to help and participate in in being very active in the meal prep process. So, you know, at first when I told him that our kids were going to be raised vegan, he was like, Whoa, well, do we do we know if this is okay or not? Is it safe? You know, we can do it, because we're adults. But can we do it for kids? And, of course, that's a whole other topic that we'll dive into later, I'm sure. But, you know, long story short, once he learned the facts and the information that made him feel comfortable, he was all for it. And so as far as as far as the meal planning and meal prepping process goes, he, he plays a big role in it. So he and my son, this is what we do. So basically, Saturday, Saturday, I come up with the plan and come up with the meal plan, and I come up with all the recipes we're going to do. And sometimes we even utilize services like purple carrot or Green Chef, especially like while I'm pregnant, because I don't always have the energy to plan. But on the days when we're not using those services, I come up with the menu and I write out all the recipes and we use our shared note app, so that we can both access the plan for the week. And the plan for the week is a mix of family meals that you know the bigger meals that we're making for the two of us. But we also make those meals or we make smaller portions of those meals to give to beyond and it's also a mix of like smaller one off items that are based on his school menu. So we try to mimic his school menu as much as possible throughout the week. So that when he's at school, you know his food looks just like his friends food and there are no you know, questions of like, Hey, why does such and such get pizza and I don't have pizza? Well, he has vegan pizza I have my little mushroom pesto flatbread recipe that is our go to, so he is never without. So I make that plan on Saturday. And then Sunday, my husband and my son, they go to the grocery store together. So that's their weekly ritual. So they go grocery shopping, and they get all the ingredients and they come back. And then I take over the parental duties. So I spend time with beyond while my husband starts the meal prepping process. So he'll cook all the recipes and stuff that I've listed out for him. And when my baby goes down with her net, and then I'll step in, and I will also participate and cook whatever I can as well. So he's my husband's a Virgo. So he's the complete opposite of me. I'm a Pisces, we're literally complete opposites on the Zodiac, I'm March 10 he's September 10. And that should be a recipe for chaos, but actually works, you know, so he's like, big into batch cooking and getting everything done in one day and organizing everything all nice and neat in the refrigerator. Whereas I like to just cook throughout the week. So when he's done with like, the main lunches and dinners, I actually then take over during the week to cook all like the breakfasts, and snacks and stuff for beyond. So it's definitely, you know, a two parent thing. It's teamwork. You know, he's, we're dividing and tackling he's taking on, you know, part of the menu, I'm taking on the other part of the menu. And like I said, we're just we're very different, but it works. You know, he's a batch cooker, he washes dishes as he goes, he's very clean, very organized. I'm, you know, cooking throughout the week, and I'm loading the dishwasher, because I'm not trying to do dishes like that. I love our process and the way our brains work so differently, but it comes together in the end, so beautifully and organized. And you know, my child always has a variety of options to eat because of that. And another tip that I'll give is not only to just batch cook, you know, family meals, but to also batch cook like little one off ingredients that you can use in recipes, like I'll make, let's say like little tofu bites or a batch of, you know, pasta, or a batch of refried beans, those refried beans, you know, we'll put in the refrigerator for the week, and then freeze the rest. And so, throughout the month, we can thaw you know, the different one off ingredients that we put in the refrigerator. And those make good side items. Or you can use them in other recipes. You know, you can take those refried beans and make a you know, refried bean stuffed tortilla you know, so there's just so many ways you can do it. But that's what works for our family, we rely heavily on batch cooking and cooking in bulk. And that helps. That helps keep us from having to figure out hey, what are we going to eat today? Like we always have options just in the refrigerator. And we don't even have to go out very often as a result either. We very rarely go out to eat usually so special occasion. So we save a lot of money that way.

Katie Kurpanek: 23:15

I was just gonna say that is a gigantic money saver. Like yeah, I have I have a whole video course on like sustainable, you know, kind of life hacks on a budget. And that's one of the big ones is like, you know, do you even know how many 1000s of dollars you can save in a year just by eating most of your meals at home. That's so huge.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 23:36

It is huge. I think a lot of people learned that during the pandemic, especially during lockdown when they weren't able to go out. And they had to learn how to cook. I had several friends that were just like, I see why you are able to save so much money like cooking at home and why you don't go out to eat with us. You know, whatever, we asked you to come out with us. And I'm like, Yeah, you don't want to even to this day, like when I go out to hang out with my friends at restaurants I always eat before I go out. And they you know, they used to make fun of me. But now they get it. They're like no, like, that makes total sense. You're saving so much money. And I'm like yeah, why would I spend money on like a restaurant when I have all this food at home that I can eat? And to me it's better because it's home cooked. And it's vegan, and I don't have to conform at like some, you know, non vegan restaurant that I'm going to and pick like a salad like the one or two vegan options they have on the menu. Like why would I pay for that when I have like really good vegan food at home, and it saves us a lot of money.

Katie Kurpanek: 24:37

Oh, no kidding. And I think about anyone who might be listening to you that's thinking through like, well, you know, part of the joy of eating out is like I don't have to cook for myself or maybe they feel like I'm not even a good cook. So I you know, prefer to go eat this delicious food somewhere else. And that all you know can be very true. And I think also what comes with what you're doing, like just time and repetition and practice and consistency. You're going to get better. Like you're, you're gonna get better you're gonna learn about cooking, you're gonna learn what foods you like and don't like, you'll discover new recipes and spices. And I think it I mean, yeah, it does. It gets totally easier.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 25:20

Yeah, a fun fact. I didn't know how to cook before I went vegan. Well, I mean, I knew how like the basics, but my husband did all the cooking. Wow. And then when I went vegan, he was like, I'm sorry, I like I don't know what to make you feel like I'm just gonna make you broccoli every night because I don't know what to make. You know, I because of that, I had to learn how to cook and I became really good at it. And so, like being vegan taught me like a whole new life skill in terms of hooking really good meals, and it didn't happen overnight. Like when I first went vegan, let me tell you like I was eating cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch. And gosh, what was I having for dinner. I don't even know. It wasn't anything like great. Wasn't even memorable. Yeah, it wasn't even memorable, you know, but now I know how to put together like actual, like beautifully diverse meals together. And I would definitely say my palate has expanded. I've been exposed to a plethora of new flavors and spices and ingredients that I never even knew existed before going vegan. I didn't know what chia seeds were before. Or hemp seeds. All these other like really cool protein sources. I didn't know about hearts of palm. You know what, none of that I you know, I all I knew how to do was like make a pork chop. I didn't I didn't know anything else. Other than that. I made pork chops, macaroni cheese, rice, maybe a side of broccoli. Like that was my diet growing up. So now that I'm vegan, like, it's so funny, people think that we're limited in our choice. Options. Oh, complete opposite, complete opposite. Like there's always like almost too much to choose from. So I actually do enjoy going to vegan restaurants from time to time because when I do go there, Ah, man, it's like being in vegan heaven. Like those really good vegan restaurants that have like really robust menus and you're just like, wow, these are so creative. And, and it's been amazing.

Katie Kurpanek: 27:25

And then it gives you even more like inspiration for meals that maybe you haven't made yet. But now you're like, Oh, I could probably recreate this or something like it and oh

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 27:34

my gosh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I had for mother's day we went to a vegan restaurant and they had vegan shrimp vegan, not shrimp and grits. And I was like, How did y'all make this? So amazing. I forgot what it what the plant was, but I did write it down. But it gave me you know, new inspiration for looking into how to make seafood dishes, you know, traditional seafood dishes and veganize them using whatever play up, they mentioned that they used. Which reminds me I do need to look into that and figure that out. Because that was really it was really good.

Katie Kurpanek: 28:13

And just Yeah, I have not tried to tackle anything that resembles you know, traditional seafood meals. And it's going on six years of being plant based for me. So yeah, that's super interesting, I want to I want to get into kind of more of a discussion around like, what you sort of brought brought up with protein and variety within what you eat what you feed your family. But I think really quick even before getting into that, too, I feel like there's so much that I can pull out of your process that you've shared. That is of course relatable for families that are not vegan. So because I'm sure there are people listening, you know, on this episode right now that are not vegan, you know, don't really have an interest in that and like so but I think so much of your process of just the meal planning and the prepping and like, you know, still making time to feed your family healthy meals and save that money, all of those things are still applicable. And even for myself, like right now I do have a very wonderfully engaged partner and I love him to death. And he's, you know, an incredible parent to Eliud. And he has, at this time, a super demanding job and he works like 10 to 12 hours a day. And a lot of times he's working over the weekend. So like so I'm not at all single parenting. I don't want to make that comparison. But when it comes to like, meal planning and prepping everything that we're doing right now is like I'm the one who has the flexibility to take that on. Yeah, so but I but I see so much of what you do working for us, like if I were to become even more diligent, like I'm very good at meal planning, but not at all with meal prepping like I would love to get better at The whole batching idea and making more to like us throughout the week and freeze for the month. So just kind of putting that out there. Hopefully people listening will feel like you know whether they're vegan or not like this is so so relatable.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 30:13

batch cooking is a lifesaver, like you said, just being able to pull things out of the refrigerator that are already done, you know, throughout the week, you don't have to think about it anymore. It's a game changer.

Katie Kurpanek: 30:26

Oh, yeah, that would be so amazing. I'm like, I already made note of that, while you were talking, I'm gonna try this out for myself. Um, thank you so much for sharing all of that. Let's talk a little bit about what you're feeding, you know, your son Beyond and soon to be next baby. And with your family. So you kind of brought up all of these protein sources that are plant based that you really had never even heard of before. So like chia seeds, and hemp seeds, and all of these wonderful things. So how do you respond maybe first of all, to all the people, because I see the comments on your Instagram all the time, How do you respond to people who are constantly making the assumption that your child is malnourished or not getting enough protein or like whatever the things are?

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 31:15

Yeah, um, so I remember the very first time it went viral, and I got some of the most horrible comments, you could even like imagine, just like about me about my child. It was really hurtful at the beginning. But then, when I took a step back, and I was like, really reading some of the comments, I realized the problem was rooted in a couple of main issues. It was one people really not understanding what veganism is that people have like these preconceived misconceptions and notions about what being vegan is, and a lot of times, they're wrong. And the second one is, we, our generation, I'll say our generation did not grow up being educated in our school system, about nutrition in a comprehensive way. You know, I certainly did not learn about plant based nutrition. In my school. It was very limited. And you know, when it came to protein, for example, which is so wild to me that everyone's so focused on protein, when there are a plethora of other nutrients that I wish people would ask me about, that are way more interesting than protein, because protein is just not even a problem, you know how rare it is to have a protein deficiency. Yeah. But you know, protein sources. Growing up, you automatically are taught to associate protein with meat. And that's a huge problem. And it's why a lot of people can't wrap their heads around how a vegan or how a child can be raised vegan, you know, they think, Oh, they need so much protein to grow. And if they're vegan, they can't possibly be getting the protein they need. First of all, 13 grams is what you know, my child at his age needs, 13 grams of protein a day. That's not very hard.

Katie Kurpanek: 33:11

No, you could get that in one meal. Yeah,

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 33:14

I was just about to say this morning breakfast by the time this morning breakfast is over, he's probably already hit that target. The yogurt that we feed him the vegan yogurt that we feed him it's soy and almond based, has 12 grams of protein per adult serving. So obviously, you know, you know, probably half that for a child. And then like I was saying, there's these like plethora of ingredients that I was exposed to once I became vegan I didn't know about before he has like hemp seeds and chia seeds you add, like if you have a picky eater, that is like my secret like if you are if you have a picky eater, a selective eater, I like to say not picky a selective eater, because kids go through those phases all the time. Oh, yeah. Add some chia seeds or some hemp seeds. And that is like such a simplistic way for them to get more protein into their their daily diet without having to like pull out all the stops and try to you know, cook them all these different you know, high protein meals that they're not that they just refuse to eat. And I did it in a way where I got my son to enjoy even though just like no flavor or anything that she sees or him sees like it just kind of mixes in seamlessly to your meal, but he just has so much fun pouring it into his you know, soy, almond, yogurt, coconut yogurt, whatever. He eats all kinds of sources of yogurt. But he loves just pouring it in. Like that's his favorite thing to do. Like if you make it an interactive experience, I have found that kids love to have options. They love to have control over their meals and so do that simple little act of having him pour that chia seeds and having an impact. his own granola and his own hemp seeds into his dishes. It just makes it so much easier to get him to eat those things. And he loves it. Like he asks for it. He'll say like chia seeds. I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna get the chia seeds. He'll say like hemp seeds, like, okay, nolaw. And I'm like, Okay, I'm guessing you're saying granola, go get the granola. And before you know it, you just have like such a robust, nutrient dense meal, there's so many ways to make your meals, you know, nutrient dense, to make sure that your little ones meeting all their needs and thriving. But like I said, it goes beyond protein. And I tried to educate people on that, like, there are so many other nutrients that the average child who's not vegan, is not getting or struggling to get, I mean, how many parents know about choline and I had, I mean, these are all things that I didn't learn about until I was pregnant, and researching, like, all the different nutrients that we need to be focusing on as parents. And these were the nutrients that I didn't know about in terms of how much iodine my child was, how much choline excuse me, my child needs. How much vitamin D and calcium, you know, my child needs. And, you know, it's really interesting, because like, you know, you're always talking about how Oh, we talked about crunchy topics. And that can even get controversial because, you know, when we kind of exist in this space of being crunchy and being like, all natural and things, there are some people who don't even want to do plant based milks because they feel like, Oh, I'm not doing store bought milks, I'm gonna make my own milk. And to that, I tell people, Hey, you can do that. But make sure you are taking the necessary steps to fortify it properly. Because the benefit of store bought milk store bought, you know, plant based milks, like the Ripple kids or like the soy milk, whatever you choose to go with, is that they're already fortified with calcium and vitamin D, and you need vitamin D to be able to absorb the calcium. And it's very difficult to get those levels every single day without say something like a Ripple kids milk, a plant based milk that's already fortified with that, because they need I think it was 800 800 milligrams, or something like that, I can't remember I haven't written down, it's in my book per day that they need. And that can be difficult to do with just calcium rich foods alone, especially given how kids go through selective eating phases. And this goes into why a lot of parents end up turning to cow's milk to give their kids every day because it's just they feel they feel like it's easier for them to get the nutrients that they need. Because cow's milk has vitamin D, it has calcium, you know, it has the the fats, it has all the nutrients that they feel like their kid needs in order for them to thrive, but you can get the same from plant based milks. And so I always, you know, advise people to choose either a pea milk, or a soy or soy milk, because those are the most nutritionally dense plant based milks for a child. So there are so many other nutrients that we have to be looking at and focusing on other than protein. And you know, I tell people that like not only vegan parents, but also non vegan parents, you know, because for their own kids, they, they think that their kids are getting everything that they need just because they eat meat, or just because they drink cow's milk. And that's not how it works. You know, we don't have food, we don't have food requirements. It's not about the food, it's about the specific nutrients. So we don't have like ingredient requirements, we have nutrient requirements. So you just need to make sure that whatever diet you're on or whatever lifestyle you're living, your child is getting the nutrients from the food that they eat. And a child can be nutrient deficient, whether they're vegan or non vegan, it can happen to anybody. But the moral of the story is everyone should be paying attention to nutrient intakes for their children.

Katie Kurpanek: 39:19

Thank you so much for saying that, that I just wrote that down to the nutrient versus food requirements that we need because that was something that so I've been following a platform called Solid Starts. Have you heard of them? Yeah, I love Solid Starts. They are super helpful for you know, it's not like a plant based organization, but they have a lot of plant based education too. But they basically are an incredible resource for like feeding you know your baby as soon as they're able to eat solid foods like six months old. They have all a whole database of like feeding specialists and allergists and nutritionists and all the people. And anyway, I signed up for a membership with them, they have tons of free resources, but I signed up for a membership for all the extra perks. And one thing was like being able to email back and forth with, you know, some of these specialists with my questions. And that was one thing I was like really worried for a while when my, my toddler he's two and a half right now, he has gone in and out of very selective phases and is in, he's in another one right now. And it's really hard. But, um, but it cycles, you know, he's in it, he's out of it. And then when he was in one a while back, I was emailing with a specialist, like all my concerns. And she basically said the same thing that, you know, he has nutrient requirements, and it's not necessarily about the food he's taking in, like, because I was worried about him not wanting to eat specific foods anymore. And she was assuring me that as long as he's still getting the same nutrients that he needs from other foods, or from that fortified plant based milk, we always, we also use the Ripple kids, you know, pediatrician approved and created. So that was very reassuring to me, kind of like talk to me off of that, that cliff edge because I was like, alright, He's okay. He's still getting his nutrients, even if he's in a selective phase. So I really appreciate you saying that. And I'm so curious, like, has Beyond gone through any like really selective phases yet or? Okay. Yeah, I'm like, I feel like every kid does,

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 41:32

but yeah, people see these posts. They see him eating up a storm, and they just automatically assume he's like that every single day. Oh, definitely not. Especially when I got pregnant and I Oh, my first trimester, ok for context, My first pregnancy was so smooth. I didn't have any issues like when I was pregnant with Beyond, but the second pregnancy threw me off guard because my first trimester, I was so nauseous, I did not want to be in the kitchen. I hated the sight of the kitchen, I hated the sight of food. I was throwing up every day. And so I was like, Carl, my husband, like you got to take over because I can't, I can't again, so he was doing most of the cooking and eating. And I just remember he got stuck in this rut, this cycle of giving Beyond oatmeal for dinner every day. Oh my gosh. And so when I finally you know, out of my first semester, and I was back to being able to cook again and like feed him. I was like, Who is this child? I'm like, What have you done with my child who would eat anything? Like he's asking me for oatmeal every night? Yeah, we got we gotta we gotta we got to change this. I need my my food machine back, my little foodie back. So here's what I did here was my strategy. So what I did was I looked at like some of these meals that he wanted over and over again. So annoying. And I was like, okay, there are two ways I'm gonna go about this, I'm going to do another meal that's similar to it in texture. So I would do and this is actually my cookbook, a coconut, quinoa porridge. So quinoa. It's not oats, but it has, you know, when you make a little turn into a porridge, it's kind of like oatmeal. Whether the other way I went about it was making that same meal, but re mixing it. So instead of just plain oatmeal, I would do apple pie oatmeal, which is another recipe in my book. And so I slowly got him out of that cycle of just expecting oatmeal for dinner and, you know, got him back into his, you know, exploratory phase, where he's, like, willing to try more foods and be interested in more foods. But yeah, that was that was a scary, scary period. For me. I wasn't used to that I wasn't used to him being a selective eater. I will say this, what I've learned is that in the United States, there are I think there's a lot more instances of selective eating, just because of our food culture here and even when I was doing intense research for the book, I discovered, which is not surprising to me. Not surprising to me, because, you know, our, our food habits are really aren't in influenced by science. They're not influenced by ethics. It's really influenced by corporations. It's influenced by the government and it's influenced by just like societal norms, right. So in terms of corporate ID being influenced by corporations, one of the factors of why we have so many select big eaters here in the United States now is because food culture was heavily impacted by the Gerber's. So in the 1930s, the Gerber family, it was the father and son team, they decided to start making their own baby food, they had a canning company. And they were like, Let's, let's just like make our own baby food and like put it in cans and see if it sells and it went viral. Like so many people started buying this, you know, store bought baby food. And before then prior to that being the norm, people actually made food and home and they did stop they did solids, they did baby led weaning, they, they did all those things that you know, now you're kind of seeing coming back into popularity here in the United States. And we kind of regard the whole pureed method as like a traditional method. But quickly, that was actually only started happening, like in the 1930s, when the store bought pureed food went crazy in the markets. And interestingly enough marketing, oh marketing, I just I always tell people to like, Look past marketing, because it's designed to take your money, they invest it, when they saw how well was doing, they invested all this money into marketing, to tell people and convince people that store bought baby food was somehow better for you than homemade baby food. And not only did they target people through advertising and marketing, they also targeted the medical community. And they would take like their home in their store bought baby food to the doctors and like try to give them a whole spiel and convince them to convince their patients that that's the route they should be going. So it's my model to me. So when we talk about, you know, selective eating, a lot of it has to deal with just the way food culture has changed over the years, and how we, how we tend to feed our kids and how we introduce food to our kids, because that plays a really big role, I think is like how you introduce it to them in the very beginning. And even what you eat when you're pregnant. You know, I did a q&a with my plant based pediatrician for the book. And she was talking about how their palates can be heavily influenced by what you eat when you're pregnant. And it starts you know, fairly fairly early in the pregnancy, I can't remember what month in particular, but they're able to start form forming like their palettes from the ambiotic fluid based on what you eat. And so you can eat, you know, a variety of like spices and herbs and, you know, vegetables and fruits and different, you know, food items, and really kind of start training their tastebuds to crave those types of food items after they're warm. Mm hmm.

Katie Kurpanek: 48:09

Oh my gosh, I am so happy that you're sharing all of this and that so much of it is in your book because the only way I had ever heard about anything you just shared was through the solid starts account that was yeah, that was who educated me on this whole, you know, food history with the within the United States and the marketing of baby food. And like, I seriously had no idea in the rest of my life that like babies don't have to have baby food. That's like pureed. I was like, How is this so mind blowing to me. But marketing is, you know, a genius and a terrible beast at the same time. So oh my gosh, I cannot wait to get into your cookbook, everything that you're talking about already. This is like more than a cookbook with recipes. It's like there's so much education in there. So let's start to bring this conversation in for a landing by focusing here... Calling all the environmentally conscious individuals in Colorado and beyond. Get ready to discover an incredible apothecary online store and zero waste refill shop Bloomble Apothecary. I am thrilled to partner with them to bring you exclusive discounts at Bloomble apothecary. They believe that every day is an opportunity to make better choices for our bodies, minds and the planet. Their mission is to bridge the gap between eastern and western remedies while embracing eco responsible ways of life. This all in one apothecary and home goods store takes a low waste approach offering simple solutions to complex problems. They hold space for informed decisions that prioritize physical and mental health as well as the well being of our planet. So when you shop at Bloomble apothecary you will find an array of zero waste products for home and personal care bulk herbs hemp derived products like CBD, THC tinctures, topicals, edibles and even products for your furry friends. They also offer mushrooms, alkaline water with free refills and functional wellness consultations to address specific concerns like hormone balance, anxiety, depression, anti aging, hair loss, gut health, and more. By using the affiliate link provided in the show notes, you will not only support Bloomble apothecary, but also contribute to my own small business at no extra cost to you. So it's a win win for everyone involved. And here's an exciting bonus. When you join my patreon community, you will gain access to unique discount codes for all of my community partners including Bloomble apothecary they are offering 10% off to all of my patrons. The patreon link can also be found in the show notes patreon.com/all Things sustainable, so make a difference in your daily life and join the Bloomble apothecary wellness journey by clicking the link in the episode description. Together we can shape a better future for our bodies, our minds and our planet. Now back to our show... The Vegan Baby is coming out really really soon. Actually, by the time this episode releases, I think it will be really close to when your book is coming out in the fall of this year. So will you tell us about your book like whatever you want to tell us?

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 51:21

I'm glad you mentioned that it's more than a cookbook because that was very important to me that to me was imperative that this be a cookbook and a guide. Because it takes more than just saying here's some recipes go forth and you know cook these for your child like no, I wasn't about to do that to people like no you need to know nutrition facts. You need to know everything from how to navigate holidays how to navigate, daycares, and school searches to how to you know just navigate everyday life and your lifestyle, your being a vegan parent, and you have to know like ahead of time, like hey, it's not going to be like super straightforward and simple. There are a lot of things that you will learn as you go and that's okay. You know, don't be afraid and like, hey, that's why you have this guide to kind of help you through it. And hopefully you'll read it before your child gets here so that you're not scrambling for this information like I was after my child. So I compiled like everything that I've learned from you know, I did, I got a certificate from Cornell University, their online program on plant based nutrition as well as student sustainability. I talked with, you know, so many experts and nutritionists, dieticians, pediatricians, I consulted so many people, I dug through over 100, you know, clinical trials and scientific journals, like there's, gosh, doing the citations for this thing was a beast in itself. I can't imagine research I did. You know, it's like this is not just the cookbook, this is definitely a guidebook. And in fact, I would say like, probably my favorite part of the book was part one, which is the vegan super kid guide. So I You're the first person I'm sharing this with but like the theme of the book is, you know that vegan kids are superheroes. So you know, you have my own kid who's kind of like the character of the book. And he's like the vegan super baby. So the first part of the book is called the vegan super kid guide. And that's the part of the book that has all like the practical information, the nutrition facts, you know, how to meal prep, how to meal plan, how to stock your kitchen, how to navigate, like, all these different challenges, how to deal with all the myths and the stereotypes, how to respond to people who have negative things to say, and you know, just like my own personal backstory of what it's like being a vegan parents, so that that part's like really special to me, because it's just very personalized to my own story, as well as filled with, you know, just science back information, to get people to feel comfortable because like that's one of the biggest keys is, you know, confidence breeds or sorry, competence breeds confidence. So the more competent you are and how to do this, the more confident you'll be in executing you know, this lifestyle because it can be intimidating if you don't have the information especially when it comes to nutrition. Right you know, you'll have so many people who want to bring up like these once in a blue moon instances of you know, vegan families neglecting their their children, but in those instances, it's not the diet that hurt the child. It's lack of nutrition, it's it's being negligent that hurt the child and that can happen on any Diet, nothing to do with being vegan and everything to do with their parenting. So, you know, these are all things that are in like that first section of the book to really help people develop the confidence to, to do this and the knowledge to do this. And then the second part is all like the cool, fun recipes that Beyond has enjoyed, he's taste tested everything, he's my tester, me know, he is like the vegan baby. So I felt like, it was just really special to have him be a part of this, this book and this whole journey. I mean, if it weren't for him, I definitely wouldn't be here and where I am in my career in terms of releasing a vegan, you know, cookbook for children. So he definitely inspired this whole thing. He's in my dedication, I have a little dedication in there to both him and my, my new one that's coming, as well as my husband for being my rock and, you know, supporting, supporting me along the way, you know, in terms of just always encouraging me to pursue this and also to being a great partner, you know, an equal partner, a supportive partner, in terms of cooking and taking care of our kid and just being an amazing father. And yeah, and then the other part of my dedication actually goes to my community, because they actually asked me to write this. So I had to write this. The actual actually the publishing company that approached me for this, they had approached me before to write a book about sustainability. And I turned it down, because they, I didn't want to be like an influencer, that just wrote a book just to write a book, I said, you know, if something comes up, where I feel compelled to write a book about, like, a certain topic where I feel like I'm really filling a need, and, you know, answering the requests of people that want a particular book, then I'll do it. And it just so happened that six months later, I started that series. And when people started saying, You need a cookbook in the cookbook, I was like, okay, that's what I'll do. There's, there's demand for it, there's a need for it, it's filling a very important gap in a niche where you don't have a lot of information on this, but you have high demand for it. And it's interesting, because as a content creator, you know, I work with a lot of brands, and I think it's even inspired some brands to take this particular niche. Seriously, I had one agency, or they had a phone call with me the other day, and they were like, Yeah, you inspired a whole new, like, customer profile for this brand that we're working with who never in a million years would have thought that there was an audience of like vegan parents, and, you know, holistic parenting, and it was just like,

Katie Kurpanek: 57:55

yeah, we exist. There's lots of us!

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 57:59

So many of us out there, yeah, who want to raise healthy, you know, children who care about animals and the planet and in their health, so, yeah, we're here. But you know, a lot of a lot of brands probably didn't even really know that or realize that there are so many of us out here. So it's been really cool seeing that shift, and feeling like I'm a part of something bigger than myself and bigger than my family. You know, and really, in a way, not pioneering but like helping this movement grow and get legs and be recognized more and more outside of our small community. You know, I want people who aren't vegan who aren't sustainable, who aren't into health to learn about this and recognize the need for the importance of it, and why they should consider it you know, and why they should take an interest in it. So it's not just for vegans, this is for vegan curious people too. And I hope it really helps helps people figure out how to navigate this and feel confident in doing so.

Katie Kurpanek: 59:12

I am sure that it will I have like absolutely zero doubt about that. So I am so excited for this cookbook to come out. I am just like going through your you know what your vegan toddler and previous you know, baby eats in a day reals until that comes out because I'm like, okay, so I get so much inspiration from those reels, as do obviously many people but as soon as your cookbook comes out, I am getting my hands on it. I'm so excited because like my toddler right now, I think so much can benefit him, you know, helping me you know, as the parent to like, what do I do with these selective eating phases? And how do I continue to introduce him to even more variety of foods, so and then hopefully, you know if we can have another kiddo that I think just starting off even stronger. I'm very curious to see how that journey will go. So, yeah, I'm so excited about all of this. And I know we're getting close on our time. So I want you to be able to share with people like, how can they keep up with what you're doing? How can they follow you? And then also, you know, my kind of like, traditional final question to wrap up these episodes is, if you could just share 1 to 3 actionable steps that you feel like our listeners can take no matter where they're coming from, what their levels of accessibility might be, to just continue educating themselves about both meal planning, meal prepping, you know, that sort of sustainable routine, and then also being vegan and plant based, if you'd like.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 1:00:49

Sure, as far as actionable steps, I'll give you like one big thing. And this is actually how my husband kind of planted the seed the years before he actually went plant based, but it's learning how to replace meat sources with the plant based source. And that way, you can make all of the traditional foods you love. All you're doing is removing the animal and replacing it with the plant. So for example, you know, I have a recipe in my cookbook with this chick chickpea, chickpea meatballs, right? So we're just taking the cow out. And instead we're replacing it with chickpeas, you know, figure out how to replace those animal ingredients. With a plant based version of that, like my husband, the very first thing he ever did, was he swapped cow's milk for I don't know what he switched to if it was oat milk, or almond milk, or soy milk, but whatever it was, I think, you know, because I had gone vegan. So he one day like, took a sip of my plant based milk. And he was like, This tastes like milk. Why am I drinking cow's milk when I can drink this, and he was like, looking at the ingredients. He's like, Oh, it has like the same like nutrition information, if not better, like if not more protein, you know, more calcium, than cow's milk. So he's like, I'm just gonna start drinking your plant based milk. And it was as simple as that once he realized how easy it was to just swap one ingredient, one animal ingredient that he was used to doing with a different one. And so that was years before he even decided to go plant based. And he only went plant based because he watched a documentary. So another actionable step. But once you kind of get the hang of rethinking, like how you make your traditional meals. So watch documentaries, that you would be so surprised how educational and convincing some of these documentaries are when you watch them, not just because of like the science that they're dropping the fact that they're dropping, but they open your mind to new ideas and thinking about it in a way that you just never did before. So I highly recommend watching documentaries, like I said, the one that really helped my husband, he literally go plant based overnight. And I think it was a couple of days after he watched it. He just like that he just stopped eating meat, stopped eating dairy. And he went plant based, but it's called the Game Changers and it was about plant based athletes. And that tends to be a really big hit with people because they're able to, I guess relate or you know, everyone's like fascinated with athletes, especially in the United States. So you know, people love powerful people, strong people, and they associate vegans with being weak. So I think it's shatter stereotypes for them in a way that is just really interesting and intriguing for a lot of people and seeing how these people are able to dominate in, you know, whatever sport that they're playing, or, you know, whatever they're doing in terms of their athletic abilities on a plant based diet. I think it just really shocks people. So that's a really good one to watch. And then there's some really good doom and gloom ones, as well. Gosh, what is the one that I actually I watched and I was like, Ooh, this is this is like depressing I think it was Eating Our Way to Extinction Yeah, that one yeah, I was actually in that one like not like recognizably I think they used like it's like a small little snippet of me like towards the end. Oh my gosh, yeah. But I remember watching it I was like, Whoa, this is this is heavy. But you know, for some people, you need to watch documentaries that are more heavy like that in order for it to get drilled into you how serious this is. Because everyone understands like, like I said, you know, what are the barriers To have access is people not understanding what veganism is they have these preconceived notions of what it is and it's not accurate. So, you know, really just educating yourself via documentaries would be another really good actionable step. And I say start there. Start with the documentaries and start with thinking about how you can swap out like different ingredient a different animal ingredients with plant based ones and still achieve, you know, the same traditional meals that you you know, and love. Those are two, I think straightforward ways to get started. Was there any, I felt like there was another thing you wanted me to

Katie Kurpanek: 1:05:40

Just how people can you know, follow up on what you're doing?

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 1:05:44

Yeah, gotta keep up with me. Um, Hey Ashley Renne on Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, all things. Um, but mainly Instagram is my main platform. And then of course, I have my cookbook and guide coming out. It's called The Vegan Baby cookbook and guide. I haven't shared the pre order link. But apparently people have are really excited about it. Because they've heard me talk about it. They they saw me sharing my cover photo journey. And so I guess maybe people went and looked it up themselves and pre ordered it because my publishing company told me the other day that I have all these pre orders already knows, like, how I would share it. So yeah, so it's out there, The Vegan Baby cookbook and guide. I haven't even shared the new cover photo, but I need to soon. But if you actually go look for it. Now, you'll see that the cookbook, the final cookbook cover before I even revealed it, it's just out there. So wow, I'm really proud of it, too. I have a great photographer, she does all my family photography. And she did my cover book, I'm sorry, my books cover photo. And it just it's really special to me how it all came together. So yeah, if this is something of interest to you, I highly encourage you to go out and preorder it. And I look forward to the recipes and all the information really dive into it and keep an open mind as you read it and you know, learn something new.

Katie Kurpanek: 1:07:16

Yeah, I'm so excited about it. Like no matter where people are on their journey, you can always learn something new. Like I said, I'm already learning so much from you. And like I've, you know, been in this for nearly six years. And I am very excited to get your cookbook. So I'll compile all the different links and everything from you. And I'll put those in the show notes or the episode description, so people can click on that if you're listening. And all of this will be there. And I am so excited for what you're putting into the world. Thank you so much.

Ashley Renne Nsonwu: 1:07:47

Oh one more thing, I just want to give a quick shout out to Genesis Butler because she did the foreword for my book. She's a teen vegan activist and she's incredible. And I just want to say that I'm so grateful to her for being a part of my book as well as Dr. Yame, She has her own podcast, she medically reviewed my nutrition chapter for accuracy and as also Dr. Shayna Smith, for doing the q&a in the starting solids chapter. So I'm very honored that I have such wonderful women in my life who contributed to the book, so thank you to them.

Katie Kurpanek: 1:08:21

Ah, that's so amazing. There's so many great people out in the world doing great things. Thank you so much for being one of them. I hope you enjoyed today's episode, and if you did, I would love it if you would share it with a friend. Spread the word over your social media or simply leave a review wherever you subscribe to this podcast to help others find it as well. Thank you so much for being here. I'll catch you next time.