163. She Parked Her Juice Truck At McDonald's...On Purpose with Christina of Juice for Us

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On this episode of the podcast, Christina of Juice For Us is sharing her story.

Christina is the Dreamer and Doer behind Juice For Us, New Jersey's first vegan food truck that offers cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and a variety of plant based options.  Juice For Us mission is to inspire and educate our communities to enhance their quality of life and increase their quantity of life with the power of plants. Parked with purpose in a food dessert near you. 

Christina, who has a long family history of severe diabetes, decided to go vegan for health reasons in hopes of changing the current and future health of her family. On the podcast, Christina shares her experience transitioning to veganism as a Puerto Rican who was raised heavily on traditional meat dishes and how she managed to make the jump to eating plant-based (hint: slowly, one animal product at a time, with a strong support system around her).

After going vegan, Christina started to notice more mental clarity and more brain space for creativity, which led her to question her corporate job and consider other ways to make an impact and make a living. She started selling juice + smoothies out of a trailer–or as she refers to it: “a shack”--to provide her community, which exists in a food desert, with healthier options. 

The business she created successfully grew into more, and now Juice For Us is a fully built out food truck that still serves the original juice and smoothies alongside full meals as well.

Christina and I dive into the details of what it was like starting and growing her business and what it really takes being an entrepreneur.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Christina’s reasons for going vegan

  • How to slowly and sustainably transition into eating vegan

  • Thinking of what you can ADD to your diet rather than focusing on what you’re no longer eating

  • The inspiration behind Juice For Us, and the importance of existing in a food desert

  • The lack of black and brown-owned juiceries and what makes Juice For Us different

  • Vegan entrepreneurship, leaving corporate life, and the realities of being your own boss

  • Navigating business during a pandemic

  • The importance of affordability for vegan food

  • The growing vision for Juice For Us + providing healthy food options to our communities

Contact Juice for Us:

Instagram

Website

The “shack” we mentioned in the episode

162. Vegan Baking, Blogging Isn't Dead & Food Photography with From the Comfort of My Bowl

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On this episode, I chat with food blogger and photographer Jhanelle Golding (From The Comfort of my Bowl) about her overnight transition to veganism, blogging, vegan baking tips, and so much more.

As you know, I always start out asking my guests about how they went vegan.

While most of my guests explain that it’s a slow process transitioning to veganism, Jhanelle shares a totally different perspective: going vegan overnight.

Going vegan overnight is a much different approach than most long-term vegans suggest, so be sure to tune in to hear how Jhanelle made the decision and how giving up animal products very suddenly worked for her.

Jhanelle also shares her perspective from living abroad, specifically being vegan in Japan and then traveling as a vegan in Southeast Asia.

She talks about how it was very difficult to eat out as a vegan in Japan and how cooking every meal every single day for herself was a huge reason why she started sharing her recipes on social media.

Her tip for vegan travel? Know how to cook if you have to get by in a place that’s difficult, or choose locations that already include vegetarian or vegan dishes as part of their culture so you can easily order food out while traveling.

If you’re wondering how to become a food blogger, this episode of course has some entrepreneur tips and tricks for you!

I ask Jhanelle about how she started growing an audience on social media, why blogging is still the best strategy for growth, and the importance of SEO for vegan food blogs.

When you check out From The Comfort of My Bowl and Jhanelle’s baking blog How To Bake Vegan, you’ll notice the amazing food photography.

So, of course you know I asked Jhanelle to share her secrets for content creation and blog photography.

Tune in to this episode to hear more about:

  • Going vegan overnight

  • Why you should make a vegan version of your favorite dishes as an easy way to start a vegan journey

  • Sharing what you eat as a vegan as a way to hold yourself accountable

  • How to travel as a vegan

  • Delicious vegan baking tips

  • Why blogging is more relevant than ever before AND why you should consider starting a blog instead of focusing all your time on Instagram

  • Easy food photography tips for beginners

  • Jhanelle’s process for creating content including her schedule for posting recipes consistently

Contact Jhanelle:

From the Comfort of My Bowl blog

From the Comfort of My Bowl Instagram

How to Bake Vegan blog

How to Bake Vegan Instagram

Resources Mentioned:

161. How I Increased My Credit Score From 471 to 700 in 12 Months

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On this solo episode of the podcast, I’m following up with part 2 of my own credit story as part of my Money Series.

If you missed it, please tune in to episode 159, which is the first part of this story where I share my struggles with managing money and credit and explain how these problems all started.

So many of you reached out to me saying you have experienced these issues too. I really hope this series helps even one person feel empowered to take control of your finances – it’s never too late!

In this episode I’m talking about the next step: how I increased my credit score from 471 to 700 in 12 months.

I’m walking through the exact steps I took when my finances were at their worst in order to gain control of my money, credit, and life. I learned all of this through trial & error and my own experience and I want to share what I learned with you all in hopes that it may help someone in a similar spot.

In 2019 I was in the worst financial situation I have been in. I was recently separated, living with my parents, and had horrible credit after a lifetime of mismanaging credit cards and letting bills go to collections.

With the support of my family, I was able to have a safe space to lick my wounds and come up with a plan to tackle my debt and relearn how to manage my money.

In this episode I share:

  • The importance of changing your mindset around money and creating a money mindset of worth and confidence

  • Why I stopped calling myself ‘broke’ and became solution oriented

  • How to consolidate multiple debts into one payment to help you pay off debt

  • Getting student loans out of default with a customized payment plan 

  • How to pull free credit reports

  • How I tackled all the derogatory accounts on my credit report

  • Utilizing Trello (a project management tool) to organize my debt and payments

  • Creating a side hustle just for paying off debt

  • The importance of having ‘debt’ to improve your credit score

  • How to get a credit card when you have terrible credit

  • Secured credit cards, what they are and how to use them responsibly

  • How to dispute old credit inquiries and remove them from your credit report


At the end of the episode, I also answer some questions you guys asked me about my credit journey.

If you’re enjoying this Money Series and want to hear from money experts on this podcast, please reach out and let me know!

Financial management is wellness, too!

Resources mentioned:

160. Making Health A Priority, Self-Love, & Building Confidence with The Cultivated Vegan

Shout out to this week's sponsor:

Maxine's Heavenly https://brnvgn.me/maxinesheavenly - use discount code BROWNVEGAN to save 25%

Clicking the link above is an easy and free way to support the podcast.

Thank you so much for checking out the sponsors!

Listen here…

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SheRonda is wellness coach & plant-based nutritionist on a mission to teach women how to redefine health and rid themselves of toxic attachments and unhealthy habits.

After SheRonda was diagnosed with Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism) and thyroid eye disorder, she was led down a long path of recovery, seeking answers for herself after years of traumatic health issues and being misdiagnosed by numerous doctors. Her research led her to understand that many of her remaining health problems could be improved by changing her diet. She became pescatarian, then vegetarian, and after seeing the huge health benefits of these dietary changes, eventually SheRonda became vegan and didn’t turn back.

Stepping into the vegan community, SheRonda quickly began to wonder, “Where are all the vegans that look like me?” In her initial research, she wasn’t finding any representation of black vegans or other people of color. In this episode, SheRonda talks about digging deeper to discover that there was already a community of black vegans who were living this way of life and creating inspiring vegan content.

SheRonda now teaches women how to take control of their own health, not just in terms of what they eat, but from a holistic approach she calls the Six Seeds of Holistic Health. She helps women foster more self-love, confidence, and self-care practices that tangibly make a difference in their daily lives.

In this episode, we chat about:

  • How her health crisis led her to vegan life

  • The positive impacts of eating vegan

  • Why it’s important to be your own advocate (she was misdiagnosed multiple times)

  • Going vegan while living in the South

  • Prioritizing yourself, your health, and your own self-care

  • Defining what holistic health actually means

  • Struggling with and living with depression and anxiety

  • The steps you should take to love yourself, build your confidence, and go after the life you deserve.

Contact SheRonda:

Podcast

Instagram

Bloom 12-Week Coaching Program

159. Thriving on Raw Food, Vegan Dating & Travel Tips with A Yummy Vegan

Shout out to this week's sponsor:

Maxine's Heavenly https://brnvgn.me/maxinesheavenly - use discount code BROWNVEGAN to save 25%

Clicking the link above is an easy and free way to support the podcast.

Thank you so much for checking out the sponsors!

Listen here….

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Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher for weekly episodes.

Angel is a wellness speaker and coach who helps women thrive on a plant diet and vegan lifestyle from head to toe.

In our episode we chat about:

  • Angel’s best tips for vegan travel, favorite places in the world to eat vegan, and why you have to go into vegan travel with the right mindset.

  • The benefits to raw food, her favorite meals and how to eat raw vegan during the colder months.

  • Why she prefers vegan men while dating

Connect with Angel:

Website

Instagram

Clubhouse

Resources mentioned:

Angel’s Ebooks