Picture this: We had just got back from our seven day trip to Tulum and I was headed to San Diego for a bachelorette party in just 2 days. I’m on the couch half asleep trying to overcome a stomach flu.
Ben: Would it be crazy if we squeezed in a trip to L.A. this month for a movie?
Me: :::Silently dying:::
Ben: Ok, we’re doing it. I just got us tickets for the movie!
Apparently, Rich Roll announced on his twitter that he was hosting a screening of a documentary "Running for Good" directed by Keegan Kuhn (who also directed "Cowspiracy" and "What the Health"). After the showing Rich Roll was doing a live podcast with Fiona Oakes (the star of the documentary) and Keegan Kuhn.
If you don’t know who
Rich Roll is, he is a vegan ultra-endurance athlete, author of
Finding Ultra, Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming the World’s Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself, and has one of world’s most highly acclaimed podcasts which is one of my favorites!
Two weeks later, we were on a Rich Roll road trip down to L.A.
Living with a Seal
There are three essentials for a successful road trip: delicious vegan snacks, iced soy chai tea latte, and a great audiobook. The audiobook we listened to was
Living with a Seal: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet You guys, this book was amazing. I never wanted it to end!
Jesse Itzler is married to Spanx founder Sara Blakley, former rapper, ultra marathoner, and of course an author. Itzler takes the reader along on the 31 days spent living with a Navy seal. He recounts all the crazy extreme training SEAL made him do like go for a run in 14 degree weather, jump in a frozen lake, and sleep on a wooden chair. "Living with a Seal" is entertaining and also inspiring. Both Itzler and SEAL gain much more than just a friendship, they both got out of their comfort zone and challenged their mental discipline to do things they’d never thought they could do.
Sadly the book had to come to an end but the road trip had to go on. Next on our playlist was The Rich Roll Podcast,
Episode 197: Never fear failure, Jesse Itzler on living with a seal, tackling life plateaus, & getting comfortable with being uncomfortable Itzler talks about his book and what it was really like living and training with SEAL. In the book, Itzler never puts a name to the SEAL however in the podcast we know that SEAL is David Goggins.
David Goggins is a retired navy SEAL, accomplished endurance athlete, and notorious for his powerful mental capabilities to set new course records. During our last leg of the road trip, we listened to
Episode 266: Navy SEAL David Goggins is the toughest athlete on earth, thoughts on mindset, The 40% rule & why purpose always trumps motivation.. In this episode we get to know who David Goggins is and what makes him so strong.
I highly recommend reading
Living with a Seal and listening to both these podcasts!
Running for Good
Running for Good documents a vegan marathoner
Fiona Oakes, as she competes in the Marathon Des Sables, a 250km race (155 miles) through the Sahara Desert, known as the "toughest footrace on earth". Fiona has competed in the world's major marathons and finished in the top ten, broken course records in the North Pole and the Antarctic marathon, even overcoming a childhood illness when doctors told her she would never walk let alone run. All while raising money and awareness for the 400 animals at her sanctuary.
The film was so inspiring. Fiona has been a vegan for over 40 years and she is a compassionate and selfless human being. She has the biggest heart and continues to break course records to raise awareness for the animals.
After the film, Fiona, Keegan and Rich began the live podcast. The podcast has not gone live yet but once it does I will post it here.
Crossroads Kitchen
One of L.A.’s most famous and well known vegan restaurants is
Crossroads Kitchen. I first heard about Crossroads Kitchen was on a the Rich Roll Podcast with Travis Barker.
Episode 269: Travis Barker on Premonition, Intuition & The importance of Following your Heart. In this episode, Travis talks about the plane crash he was involved in 2008, how he got sober and started taking control of his life.
Travis Barker is most commonly known as the drummer for the band Blink 182, he is a vegan, and an investor of Crossroads Kitchen.
There are so many amazing vegan restaurants in L.A. and Crossroads Kitchen is definitely in the top 3. It was such an great experience, you can check out my full post on it here:
Vegan in L.A.: Crossroads Kitchen
Joi Cafe
Rich Roll is in a partnership with
Joi Cafe. Joi Cafe is 100% plant based, their passion is providing feel good food for anyone who wants to elevate their wellness, save the world, and maximize your athletic performance (like Rich Roll!) This wouldn’t be a Rich Roll road trip if we didn’t stop at Joi Cafe.
I love Joi Cafe! It’s bright and colorful and the menu had everything! They offer smoothies (One named after Rich Roll), coffee, breakfast burritos, burgers, pizza, mac and cheese and so much more.
I got the super fruit granola bowl which was the perfect warm breakfast bowl topped with apples, bananas, and strawberries. Ben got the Joi breakfast burrito, he shared a bite with me and it was soooo good!
Farm Sanctuary
One thing I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now is visit an animal sanctuary. But not just any animal sanctuary, specifically
Farm Sanctuary because of Gene Baur. I first heard about Gene Baur and Farm Sanctuary was on The Rich Roll Podcast,
Episode 138: Living More in Alignment with your Values with Gene Baur
My favorite line from the episode was, "Not even the most vegan vegan is perfect because it’s an ongoing process of trying to do as best you can on a regular basis" - Gene Baur
Gene Baur is the president and co founder of Farm Sanctuary, the first animal rescue organization dedicated to farmed animals. Gene is also a humanitarian, environmentalist, activist, undercover investigator and best-selling author of
Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food.
Farm Sanctuary has shelters in New York and California and they provide rescue, refuge, and adoption for hundreds of farm animals each year and allow visitors to connect with the farm animals. Visiting Farm Sanctuary was an unforgettable experience, I got to meet beautiful pigs, sheep, steer, and chickens who all were raised on abusive farms. I highly recommend visiting Farm Sanctuary if you are in the L.A. area, it’s just a 45 minute drive from Hollywood. And a priceless experience.
Peace + Plants
