#234: PlantYou Unveiled: Exploring Carleigh Bodrug's "Scrappy" Universe
Learn more about Carleigh Bodrug
In 2016, Carleigh Bodrug started her blog, PlantYou, with one goal - to show the world that eating plants is not only healthy, but also FUN.
Since then, Carleigh and her ever-growing team have amassed over 10 million followers (and growing!) across her social platforms, and she’s even released a New York Times Best Selling Cookbook, PlantYou.
Today, we get a peek under the PlantYou curtain as Rip and Carleigh catch up and talk about her meteoric rise in the last eight years. Carleigh shares her authentic and fresh approach to content creation, inspiration for recipes, and tips for creating plant-based meals on a budget.
We also get an exclusive sneak preview of her next book, Scrappy Cooking, which is being released in April, 2024. It will, no doubt, dazzle and inspire readers to save money, reduce food waste and eat healthier - all while having fun.
The book equips readers with not only the tools to make the most of their scraps, but use up just about any vegetable, grain, or bean from their fridge and pantry.
Scrappy Cooking not only puts the focus on eating a diet that's more conscious for our environment (and our wallets) but our health as well. Every recipe in the book is vegan, almost entirely oil free, and focuses on whole, plant-based foods that are good for our bodies and the planet.
Rip encourages listeners to pre-order Scrappy Cooking as those numbers do count towards the first week sales numbers, but, more importantly, it’s an opportunity to raise awareness of the goodness that is whole-food, plant-based nutrition.
Episode Highlights
0:02:53 Carleigh's remarkable growth on Instagram and TikTok
0:05:33 Developing content strategy on multiple social media platforms
0:10:48 Influencer advice for starting and improving video content creation
0:14:51 TikTok and the Art of Posting High-Quality Video Content
0:32:00 The Balancing Act of Choosing Music for Videos
0:38:46 The Magic of “Series” in Content Creation to create regular followers
0:45:08 Teasing the upcoming book Scrappy Cooking
0:55:58 Carleigh’s a Swiftie!
0:56:23 Tofu Flatbread: A High-Protein and Easy Recipe, plus giant spring rolls!
1:03:12 Why you should pre-order Carleigh's new book, Scrappy Cooking
About Carleigh Bodrug
Carleigh Bodrug of PlantYou is a self taught plant-based cook and content creator, famous for her simple take on low waste and vegan recipes. She has been featured in the Rachael Ray Show, Good Morning America, Business Insider and KTLA news for her “scrappy cooking” and viral vegan creations. Along with producing weekly cooking videos, recipes and blogs, Carleigh also runs a digital meal planner, all with the goal of helping people eat more plants in an easy and approachable way. He social media on Instagram and TikTok alone have amassed over eight million followers.
Pre-order PlantYou Scrappy Cooking - https://scrappycookbook.com/
Carleigh’s website - https://plantyou.com/
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Episode Transcription via AI Transcription Service
[0:00] I'm Rep Esselstyn, and you're listening to the PLANTSTRONG Podcast.
The social media dynamo is back.
That's right. Today, I catch up with PlantYou sensation Carleigh Bodrug right after this.
Introducing Carleigh Bodrug: The Authentic Plant-Based Influencer
[0:25] I gotta tell you that there's something about my guest today that is just special super super special and i'm talking about Carleigh Bodrug you may know her she is the person behind mind, PlantYou.
She burst onto the plant-based social media scene a few years ago, and I was just blown away by her, by her authenticity, which is absolutely impossible to ignore.
And then of course, not to mention the fact that she can make plant-based cooking so darn approachable, fun, and as she likes to say, scrappy.
You know, she's got a social media media following these days across all of her platforms that is well into the millions.
And I can tell you that for somebody like me, who's been doing this for well over a decade, it makes me so excited to see that her message about plants is reaching the masses in a way that that very few people have a way of doing.
[1:40] Today, I was able to have a great conversation with Carleigh about her life over the past couple of years.
And I asked her to share some of her social media secrets, which I found fascinating in regards to Instagram and TikTok and Facebook.
Book and how exactly has she grown her audience from zero to over 5 million in just a handful of years.
And as you can imagine, it involved a lot of hard work and support, but also a ton, a ton of fun and creativity along the way.
We also get a preview of her forthcoming new book, Scrappy Cooking that's coming out in April.
And if it's anything like her first book, PlantYou, it will undoubtedly be another gem of a cookbook that we're all going to want on our kitchen counters.
Here you go, the one and only Carleigh Bodrug.
Carleigh's remarkable growth on Instagram and TikTok
[2:53] Carleigh Bodrug, welcome back to the PLANTSTRONG Podcast.
It is so fantastic to see your smiling face.
There is nowhere I would rather be today, Rep. Thank you so much for having me back on. Oh, yeah.
So Carleigh, the last time I had you on was episode 132 of the PLANTSTRONG podcast.
We are now up, you're going to be, this episode will probably be right around 245, 250.
So we're moving on up just like somebody else I know.
I mean, I can't believe what you've done since our our last episode.
So your Instagram has gone from 1.6 million to 4.4 million.
I mean, what do you say to that?
[3:41] You know what? When you're in it, and I'm sure you can relate to this.
I think you posted some crazy stuff the other day about your podcast listeners in the millions.
And when you're in it, you don't really notice it. But when you put it like that, And I can't believe it's probably been about maybe a year and a half, two years since I've been on this podcast last.
[4:01] It's astounding. And I'm just so grateful because sometimes I think with this message about eating more plants, you feel like you're yelling into a void, right? Right.
But when you look and reflect over the work that you've done over the past couple of years and see kind of that jump in numbers and know that people are interested in eating more plant based food, there's nothing more I could ask for.
So I would say I feel an immense amount of gratitude.
[4:28] Yeah. Well, and you've done such a great job with your just consistently putting out such spectacular content that obviously is resonating with a large, large demographic of people that are out there.
So I just, you know, upfront at the top of this, I just want to thank you for what you're doing to get more people to eat more plants and you're doing it in such an an exciting and attractive and delicious way.
Thank you. And likewise, I think eating plants, I want everybody to know that eating plants is just so much fun and it has given me so much in my life.
So if I can pass that message on, it's all, I honestly feel like it's like my life's purpose.
So it's the best. Yeah.
And, uh, on Tik TOK, you know, Tik TOK, you were sitting at about about 950,000 followers back in episode 132.
And today it's 3.2 million.
So it's not like you were just crushing it on Instagram. You're crushing it on Instagram and TikTok.
Carleigh's content strategy on multiple social media platforms
[5:33] And I don't know what's going on with Facebook, if you even mess with Facebook.
I do. I am on Facebook. I love Facebook. I'm everywhere. I try to be everywhere.
[5:44] You're ubiquitous. So if you don't mind, I'd love before we jump into some really fun, exciting stuff.
I just want to talk to you like about some basics around, around, around Instagram and TikTok.
So is there like a, a certain method to your madness?
Meaning do you try and post like once a day or twice a week?
Is there a certain number you're shooting for when it comes to Instagram? Yeah.
So when reels first came on the scene, I can remember it, it was almost like a switch flipped overnight.
And suddenly Instagram went from this photo only platform where I was posting these infographic recipes every day to now they're focusing on video content.
That's definitely what they're pushing out.
And I remember being horrified. And I'm sure any food blogger listening to this can share in that sentiment, because you really have to sort of switch on a dime your whole content strategy.
[6:43] And at that time, I was like, okay, well, I'm putting out a photo or two a day, I need to put out a video recipe every day.
And that's how I started, I think, for the first year, which would have been around 2019, 2018.
When that switch was sort of made, I was putting out a recipe reel almost daily for probably the better part of a year.
Now my entire content strategy has changed.
And you'll hear a lot of social media people still say that you should be putting out a piece of content every day, which I disagree with.
I think we're moving to a more quality over quantity system, which to me is much better because I think for everybody providing more valuable content is the secret sauce.
So I aim for about two to three recipe reels per week, week, three on a good week, two on still a good week, and they're tested delicious recipes. The videos are meant to be thoughtful.
[7:38] And if anybody's listening to this and they're wanting to create a career in content creation, my biggest tip is every piece of content that I put out on Instagram, TikTok, or another platform, I like to think about, is this educational?
Is this valuable to someone? because at the end of the day, these platforms want people to stay on their platform.
So like Instagram, if you're retaining people, if they're watching your whole video or they're re-watching it, that's a really good thing for Instagram because you're spent, people are spending more time on their platform.
So if you think of it like that, you want to create the most valuable piece of content that you can, that people are going to share and engage with.
And that's sort sort of been my strategy is I, I try to make sure that it's not just fluff that I'm posting out there.
It's not just about me or a picture of me. It's a, it's a recipe that is really going to add value to someone's life.
Oh, it's well, the thing about what you.
[8:38] Your content and what you put out there is the farthest thing from fluff, unless it's a marshmallow, which I will talk to you about.
But really, typically, my jaw's on the ground going, where did Carleigh come up with this one?
And then where did she come up with this one? And you do it in such a upbeat, educational, just thoughtful way.
And the last time we spoke, when I had you on the podcast for the first time, you said, I think your background was in, was it TV or radio?
Which was it? Radio broadcasting, yes.
Okay. Radio broadcasting. You said the beautiful thing about this career path that you're on now is you get to scratch every one of your itches, right?
And it's so evident and you're so good at at it.
Thank you for saying that. But I will say rip.
And I somebody asked me this yesterday, they said, like, how would you get started if you were going to make video content?
And if you go back on my feed, if anybody wants to go way back, my first videos were horrendous, like they were so so bad. And I really think it's one of those things.
And it's a great analogy for plant based cooking actually, is your first meal that you cook up if you've never cooked in your life before, four, it's probably not going to be a five star delicious meal, but it's repetitive.
[10:05] You have to get your hands dirty and get in there, see what works and slowly, but surely things will improve.
So I probably didn't start creating really good video content until maybe my hundredth video.
So it takes, it takes time for sure.
Um, but I'm glad it's coming off as this, uh, this Paul, this polish thing.
And the other thing is like, I feel like I fly by the seat of my pants.
Like there's really no content calendar or anything like that.
So it's a little messy behind the scenes.
Well, it obviously is working for you. And I think we all, we all have our own styles, right?
And, um, let me ask you this because I love your advice where, you know, just, just start.
Carleigh's advice for starting and improving video content creation
[10:48] And in the beginning it may, you know, be messy and it may not be great, but you'll figure it out. Do you consider yourself a perfectionist or not?
[10:59] To an extent, I think maybe I used to be more, but I'm learning that sometimes work done is better than not doing work at all.
So I do think that at the end of the day, you sometimes do need to feed the beast in terms of these social media platforms, right?
Like I can't take three months away and come back and expect my audience to react in the same way.
So you do need to let go a little little bit of those perfectionist tendencies and get something out there.
But I will say I spend a lot of time thinking about the scripts and the little like even editing videos down to okay, I want this to be a couple of seconds shorter, because I think it will be tighter.
And maybe people will view this a couple of more times.
So there are some perfectionist tendencies in there, but I try to override them by knowing that at the end of the day, I want people to eat more plants.
So in that, if my mission is that, I need to produce content.
Well, and your advice for people when it comes to eating plants is consistency, not perfection.
And I feel like that carries over really to what we're talking about right now with the production of content.
You just mentioned scripts, right? The scripts that you write. Right.
[12:21] And, you know, in, in looking over a lot of your, your video content over the last year or so, I am, I'm in awe of how refined and succinct and how much information you can get into a 20, 30 second soundbite.
I mean, it is impressive.
[12:44] And I'm wondering, are you intentional when it comes to creating these videos that are 30 seconds long as opposed to 45 or a minute, which looking at it would be a lot easier.
But if it's 30 seconds, maybe you're going to get, That's just where the algorithm tells you you're going to get more people watching the whole thing.
Yeah, I'm very hyper aware that attention spans on these platforms are shrinking.
[13:14] And that's a little bit unfortunate, but at the same time, you can work to it, right?
I would not say it's easier to create a 25-second video.
It would be much easier to create a one-minute video to shrink all of those things in.
But I want people to find the content very exciting. And I'm very, the script writing is really something I love deeply.
So I think where that kind of comes from is I went to school for broadcast journalism and we were always taught, okay, you have like breaking news coming in.
You need to be able to write this in a way that people understand it and that lowest common denominator out there understands what you're saying and in a really clear and concise way.
So I actually, it's interesting, Rip, I used the same formula in my mind to write my first cookbook in that I wanted the recipes to be broken down and easy and stripped away.
[14:17] Like to the easiest, lowest kind of anybody can make this.
And um so it's kind of like a similar similar thing but that comes from the broadcast training i think is that i i try to make things really refined and then also kind of that first hook right it's it's exactly the same as writing a newscast as weird as that sound sounds but you would always start kind of like a newscast with a funky hook and then go into the stories so there's so many parallels there oh yes and i i'm gonna get into some of these today too Ooh, they are so fun.
TikTok and the Art of Posting High-Quality Content
[14:51] You know, I was talking to my nephew the other day and he actually started his own branding firm. Yeah.
[15:01] And, um, works with one of the Kardashians and I mean, he's doing incredible stuff. Wow.
But, but my question, so I was asking him and he's like, rip, he's like, you need to get on TikTok.
I don't know what you're thinking. Not being on TikTok. I'm like, okay, well, how often do I post?
He's like, you need to post minimum two to three times a day.
I'm like, what? Get it. Come on. Really?
He's like, just telling you, I'm just telling you. And I'm like, wow, this is moving fast.
Yeah. And I think if you're creating a really high quality, like I'm only posting about two times per week and have been two to three times per week and have been for the last couple of years.
And I think if you're spending a long time creating that content and it's like very high quality, that can work too, right?
TikTok is a very personal platform. So I think the thought goes to, oh, you need to be posting about your life kind of going on really off the cuff blogs a couple of times a day, which works really well for some people and is a content strategy in and of itself.
But it's not the only way to do it, right? It just depends.
[16:11] Where do you get all your ideas? I mean, do you like go to the grocery store and with a pad of paper and you look at a lemon and you go, oh, let's figure out what we can do with those lemon rinds or look at that artichoke.
I mean, or, or do you, do you, how do you do it?
Yeah, it starts mostly with the plant, like what you're talking about, looking at the plant and thinking about, okay, we throw this away.
Number one, is it edible? So we're going to Google that and make sure that we're not going to have anybody calling poison control after they make the recipe.
So that's, it starts with that. And then it's like, okay, what can I do with this?
So something as simple as lemon peels is you can dehydrate them and grind them into a powder.
Or a lot of people dehydrate citrus and have for a long time and put them into like cocktails and stuff like that. So it's kind of thinking through that idea.
So okay, I can dehydrate lemon peels, what if I process it into a powder, and then I can add that to salt to make lemon salt.
So the mind kind of starts going there, whirling around in these crazy ideas, starting the inspo being the plant.
And then also deep into like Reddit and Google and looking at just different things that have been done with plants over the years is something that really excites me and gives me a lot of inspiration.
So at this stage in your life.
Team Expansion and Maternity Leave
[17:32] Budding slash thriving career, what is the size of your team?
[17:37] Because I know that when you were on, I think it was Plantstock, when you were part of our Planstock, either last year or the year before, your sister had just joined you.
But I don't know, is she still with you? Has your team expanded?
So a lot has happened in the past year. So my sister joined me full time when I was writing eating scrappy cooking which was the best thing that could have ever happened and she was a massive help and she got pregnant during this time so she's currently off on maternity leave which has been an immense blessing and loss for me so she'll be back at some point in the next few months and she's she pops over and hangs out with the baby and helps me out sometimes.
[18:20] But she is off and then I also have an amazing online business manager who's worked with me for for years, but has continually, her role has expanded.
So she started just doing Pinterest. So she works with me a lot of the time.
And then I work with contractors. So an amazing contractor team.
I have a photographer for the blog now, a blog writer who I've worked with for years.
We have an amazing customer support person, Angie.
And we're really, excuse me, we're really lucky because I've worked with a team of contractors contractors that I have now for probably at least two years.
And they just keep expanding, like their roles keep growing.
So I hope to be able to keep doing that and keep expanding the team as we go on.
But yeah, I really need my sister back because that is just so much help for the videos, like just an immense amount of help. So.
Well, how much longer will it be till she's back?
[19:20] So maternity leave in Canada, we have an amazing maternity leave.
It's a year and up to a year and a half.
So she'll be going on a year in June. So I think she'll probably come back then.
But like I said, she's always popping over with the baby Mackenzie, who is just the sweetest thing ever.
And it all worked out just so well. As soon as the book was kind of complete, she was due.
So it was like all kind of happened perfectly.
So how does that happen maternally for your sister? Is that subsidized by you or is that that subsidized by the Canadian government?
It's both. So she was a full-time employee. So in that way, she qualifies for maternity leave, which is basically like unemployment in Canada.
So she's paid like a weekly sum and then I top it up.
So it goes to the highest rate possible, if that makes sense.
I don't know like the full scale of it, but I hired her as a full-time employee, which was able, she was able to qualify for an insurance leave that way. Beautiful.
[20:25] Let me ask you this. Do you have any idea how many copies of plant you have you sold?
Guessing the Sales Figures of the Book "PlantYou"
[20:32] And do you, first, don't tell me, but do you know?
You know what? I don't.
I have a rough idea. You have a rough idea. All right. Can I make a guess?
And then you can tell me. Yeah, you can make a guess. Okay. I'm going to make a guess.
I'm going to say 1.2 million.
No, no, no, no, no. Nothing close to that. Really? You're way down.
I think maybe a few hundred thousand, at least a couple hundred thousand.
I'd be amazed if it's not over 500,000. Really?
I would. I would. I would. But I mean, look at you.
Tell me, when did this book come out? How long ago did it come out?
So we are going just under two years ago.
Just under two years ago. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and you're consistently, whenever I take a peek at things, you're consistently like in the top 500 on Amazon forever. You were in the top 100.
And I know what those numbers mean. So anyway, whatever the case, it's incredible what PlantYou has done.
And the fact that you're now launching a second book, I don't want to talk about that yet though.
So the last time we spoke, you were not married. No, yes.
[21:49] You mean no, yes or yes? No, I'm married now, which is great.
Yes, you are married. And I want you to know, in looking through those photos of your wedding day, those were so incredible.
And what really touched me to the core was you got married on a farm.
Was that your hobby farm? What farm was it? Yes, my parents.
Really? Yes. It was so special. It was like the best, I know it's cliche to say, but like, honestly, the best day of our lives.
And our wedding was canceled so many times, I think three times because of COVID.
My mom got sick, this whole thing.
And for the day to happen, and then it was like the most perfect weather.
We had it catered by our favorite vegan restaurant. It was just like amazing. And...
[22:41] Was that like a 1950-something Ford truck that you guys came in or something?
I wish I could tell you the make and model, but it was a classic old truck.
A friend of my dad's lent it to us. So when I was going to come down the aisle, my mom and dad walked me down the aisle, and we showed up in this classic truck, which everybody loved. It was great.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And then you also had, it looked like, did you have dancing inside the barn? Oh yeah.
Dancing and Delicious Tacos at the Barn Reception
[23:12] Oh yeah. Big dancing, tons of dancing, tons of fun.
We had a, um, like I said, it was catered by my husband and I's favorite restaurant.
It's called Mechiko and it's in Ontario and they have the best tacos ever.
These barbacoa tacos are like the best thing I've ever eaten.
And, um, so we had a full taco bar all night, all night long.
And, uh, it was really really cool because there are not a lot of vegans in my family.
Like I might be the only true, true vegan who's like vegan a hundred percent of my life, but people loved the tacos obviously.
But I think it was such a great opportunity to expose people to plant-based food and be like, yes, this is what it's about. It's so delicious.
It's so nourishing. And yeah, it was a blast. Wow.
[24:03] Way to be. And I know that you, what's your husband's name? Jesse.
I know that you and Jesse have been dating for a while, right?
Oh my gosh. We've been together. I think our 12 year anniversary is coming up this week, this week.
So a long, long time.
It's a long time coming. Yeah.
[24:25] So one of the things I love about what you've done, Carleigh, with your brand is that you, eight years ago, you had no cooking experience.
And so you just kind of made this happen. And one of the things too, that you say, you talk about PlantYou is how this is the cookbook that you wish you had when you went whole food, plant-based, however long ago.
And for people that are tuning in and haven't listened to episode 132 with you, let's just do a quick little review. you.
You, if I'm not mistaken, your dad, who was a fire captain, he came down with, let's see, I think it was stage two colon cancer. Correct.
Yeah. And, and was that, was that kind of what led to you watching Forks Over Knives and then your curiosity?
[25:20] So interestingly, my dad was was diagnosed with stage two colon cancer when I was 11.
And it was really like quite traumatic because he had the surgery, chemotherapy, the whole thing.
But at the time, nobody spoke to my father or any of us about diet.
So we didn't shift our diet at all at that time.
And I will tell you, I don't think any of us in my family had ever had a vegan meal prior to this or after for many years.
It wasn't until 2015 when the World Health Organization came out with like like breaking news, red and processed meat are now classed as group two and group one carcinogens, that we were left kind of like dumbfounded, especially considering the link now to colon cancer and processed meat.
[26:05] And that no one had ever suggested that my dad should probably alter his diet from like a very meat centric and animal product centric diet.
So that was when it was was almost like opening Pandora's box.
And my whole family shifted to a plant predominant, I will not call them vegan, I'm vegan, but plant predominant diet.
And we all just immediately felt so much better through the power of plants.
So I felt like given my broadcasting background, I just wanted to spread this message so much.
Because I always say to people, it's a win, win-win like the environment, your health and the planet going plant-based is one of the single biggest things you can do for each one of those.
So why wouldn't you eat more plants? So I really wanted to start talking about it.
And that's kind of how the momentum started going and PlantYou was born. Got it. Yeah. Yeah.
[27:03] So remarkable. So that was 2015. So it's been a little right around eight years. Yes.
But you've been digging in and getting after it.
Yeah. Yeah. Wonderful. And at what point did you.
[27:17] Retire from your broadcasting career and make you know plant you and what you're doing now your full-time gig 2019 2019 so how many years ago was that almost four five years ago and uh i was horrified to quit my job i actually was working at a hospital not far from me at this point in marketing for their foundation which is like their charity arm of the hospital it was a really good job I liked it and but the blog was kind of taking off and I was making and had saved enough money that I felt comfortable I had Jesse was like fully supporting in this and my parents thought I was crazy they were like what are you doing please please don't leave that job like maybe you should get pregnant and go on maternity leave and then pursue this like little little hobby.
And I was like, no, I'm going to take the jump. And it was really interesting because I left the job, scariest, scariest thing.
And then I think maybe a month and a half later, I got approached by a literary agent about the book.
So thank goodness. I'm so grateful I had the courage to do that.
But it also came from privilege of having a support system and having a a good job prior to that, to be able to make that jump.
[28:43] Well, you're so humble. And that's one of the things I adore about, like some of my best friends are Canadians.
And maybe we talked about this on the last episode, but I adore Canadians because they don't have this huge ego.
They're so humble. They're so down to earth as opposed host of so many Americans that are just so full of themselves.
You know what? I've met a lot of good Americans though.
I feel like you guys might get a bad rap, but I met a lot of good, but Canadians, Canadians are special.
They really are. They really are. They really are. So, Tell me about your last name, Baudrug, and that's the correct pronunciation.
Baudrug. Where in the world does that come from?
And it's so unique. And I bet you so many teachers and friends butchered that all throughout your life.
[29:40] Baudrug, Baudrew, which I do not give one iota if someone pronounces my last name wrong.
And I question whether Bodrug is even really the correct pronunciation, or maybe it's just kind of how it came out over the years.
But it is Ukrainian. So it comes from my dad's side.
And his grandparents, I believe, were from the Ukraine. I don't know much beyond that.
And it's actually something I think a lot about when I'm consuming food content, because so much food content is so culturally rich and like beautiful and people will be like, this is like my ancestors food.
And I feel like a little bit detached.
We don't have like family recipes or Ukrainian recipes in that way.
I should start some cooking some vegan pierogies.
But it's something I've been thinking about over the last couple of years that I'd really like to dig deeper into my ancestry and sort of see what we used to eat prior to moving to Canada. Yeah. Yeah.
Well, very, very interesting.
What is Esselstyn? Esselstyn? No, it's Esselstyn and it's been butchered throughout the years too.
[31:02] That's obviously my father's side of the family and it's Dutch.
It's Dutch. It's Dutch and it stands for the rock in the river.
Oh, that's really cool. The fork in the river. Yeah.
Yeah, it's pretty cool. Yeah. Tell me this.
I was listening to some of your, I was watching some of your posts.
And who picks your music? Because I love the music that you have.
There's one like, you have for your 10 nourishing soups.
You have the music. It's the name of the song is called Confidence.
Is by a band called Ocean Alley.
And I cannot get enough of that.
I listened to it over and over and over. It's all about confidence, baby. Baby.
The Balancing Act of Choosing Music for Videos
[32:00] Oh my goodness. I have so much fun picking music. So I love music.
[32:06] My dad's always been huge into music. My mom too, huge classic rock while I was growing up, ACDC, Rolling Stones.
And i just have a huge passion for music so i have so much fun choosing the music for my videos but it's a bit of a balancing act because when you go on instagram they're going to give you like suggested songs and oftentimes they're trending music and the theory is that um the artists or the music companies could sometimes be putting like money behind those songs so it could could potentially make your video perform better if you're choosing music that is kind of being pushed out by the platform.
So it's a bit of a balancing act. If I don't like any of the songs that Instagram is suggesting, then I'm like having a lot of fun choosing the music.
But sometimes I will just default to what they're suggesting in this kind of theory that maybe it will make the video perform better. Yeah, yeah.
In so many of your posts, Uh, I love all your different looks.
So sometimes you'll be wearing a ball cap, right? How many ball caps do you have?
Oh, I love a ball cap. I mean, if you're having a bad hair day, I see the worst thing about filming videos is the fact that like, obviously I have to look presentable, right?
You don't want to like be in your pajamas.
Um, but I'm a very comfy, cozy person.
[33:33] So sometimes the bull cap comes in to save the day.
My husband has a much wider collection of hats than I do. And I will sometimes go into his collection.
But lately in the past year, I think that what you're wearing in your videos is a potential point of huge interest and adds to the whole thing, right?
So I've been really trying to be intentional about what I've been wearing and I'm trying to thrift almost everything in my wardrobe for the past year.
And I love thrifting. It's like treasure hunting.
So I'll go to the thrift store and I think about like, okay, what colors do I want?
I love really bright colors in my videos because I think they like kind of emulate the plants.
So I'm having more fun with it in recent years. But if you would ask me like in our last podcast recording, I would have said, I'd like to be like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg and just wake up and put on a black t-shirt because it's easy.
And then I don't have to think about it, but I'm trying to have more fun with it.
What about glasses? Because I've noticed that sometimes you're wearing glasses and sometimes you're not. So what's that about?
The Thrill of Thrifting and Bright Colors in Videos
[34:42] That comes from, I think, a denial of, I have glasses. I need glasses.
I can't see super far, but I don't wear glasses often.
So sometimes I'll put them in, depends on the day. Do you need glasses?
[35:00] So I need glasses, not when I read, but when I go to the movies, if I want it to be nice and crisp and clear, I need, I could use glasses. I need distance.
So sometimes I'll throw them on. Just, I think it's a visual point of interest, right?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'll just say that I love all your different looks and how real and approachable you are, how you present yourself, but I think also how you are in real life. And that comes across.
Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. So you've got all these different, um, themes that you are putting out there.
You've got quickies and you've got scrappy and you've got longevity and you've got, uh, like sneaky veggies, right.
And, uh, plants on sauce, recession recipes, I think dump meals.
I mean, wow. And then, so tell me like, what are you you thinking with these different themes?
Is it to kind of like try it and see if something kind of catches and takes hold?
I love so much that we're talking about content creation because I feel like I never get to talk about this. This is so good.
[36:18] So series are what I like to call them. And there's a couple of reasons that I do this.
Number one is that someone can come across a a video on Instagram and it's a delicious looking recipe, but oftentimes if it's not attached to a call to action or a series, or they know that more is coming, they're not going to follow your page, which I want people to become like fans of the content.
So they make the recipes start eating more plants.
So the idea behind series is that if they know more is coming, like I have 85, five, maybe 90 at this point, recipes of scrappy cooking that they're more likely to go to my page and look back and look at all of the other episodes, which is just a really great thing all around.
Number two is I think it can be challenging when you've been creating content for years to come up with new ideas.
And interestingly enough, when you narrow down the capsule in which you can create content in, it's easier to come up with ideas.
So say it's It's like, okay, I want to do plants on sauce, which is literally exactly what it sounds like.
It's like a sauce recipe with some sort of sheet pan plants put over top.
It's a lot easier to then formulate ideas when you have some sort of borders and restrictions around it and it becomes more fun. Isn't that interesting?
Yes. You think just the opposite.
[37:47] But by honing it in and getting really clear and having bumpers, it actually gives you more, an inch wide, a mile deep, so to speak.
Yeah, I think it allows for more creativity, to be honest, because your mind's not going everywhere.
You're more focused and thinking, what can I do with this?
So I create them more as an incentive for myself to create good content because it helps me.
And then also as a testing ground, right? right? I don't know how many series I've started.
I've probably abandoned quite a few, but, or, or they'll go into like hiatus.
If I don't have a good idea for a few months, like there's no, it's not like I'm putting out a scrappy cooking episode every Tuesday of the week. It's whenever I kind of think of it.
So I really just love tying things to that way.
And it's also easier to write the scripts when you have a series because you're talking about something, thing, right?
So that's the whole series magic. I highly recommend it.
The Magic of Series in Content Creation
[38:46] I feel like it doesn't matter what you're doing, creating content on, maybe you're a crafter or something.
You can create all sorts of series. Maybe you bake, there's a million different ways to do it and it can really help in the content creation process. Yeah.
[39:01] So for example, recession recipes, one of the things when I was at the fire station with the guys and we went PLANTSTRONG as a group at station two on the C shift is we would take turns buying and then deciding what to make for dinner.
And one of our goals, Carleigh, and this fits in perfectly with this series is what can we make for five hungry dudes?
[39:32] That was the, like the most frugal possible thing.
And we got to the the point to where we could do a meal for five with leftovers for lunch the next day for about $12 to $13 in grand total.
So you divide that by five and you're talking like $2 a person, $2.25.
In looking through your videos, you've got a peanut butter curry that is $1.65 a serving.
And I'm like, where was that when I needed it 10 years ago?
I like to call the formula. So Recession Recipes is all about, I think, I haven't done one in a while, but I was trying to create recipes that could serve a family for under $2 or $2.50 per serving, which I I must tell you, groceries in Canada are so expensive.
I don't know what it's like for you, but that is like a hard feat here.
So I always like to say, if you're going plant-based, don't go to like the frozen grocery aisle and start buying like vegan chicken burgers and meat.
Number one, it's probably not the healthiest for you. But number two, the secret is beans, greens and grains.
So like can of beans or dried beans is going to be even cheaper if you put them in the pressure cooker.
[40:54] Grains, your rice, quinoa, bulgur, and greens, some sort of greens, your kale, spinach, and you've got a really nourishing, really, really nourishing whole food plant-based meal that isn't going to break the bank.
Although any grocery bill like is expensive these days, but that's probably the cheapest that you're going to get it.
No, no, you're exactly right. And here in the States, I don't think we're as expensive as Canada, but the price of groceries have gone up. It's crazy.
It seems like 30% in the last three years. It's substantial.
[41:31] Now, you have a soup. Yes.
Marry Me Soup: A Delicious Recipe with a Fun Twist
[41:35] Called marry me soup. And you warn people that, you know, Hey, I'm just saying that, you know, Jesse got down on one knee after this meal.
So, you know, if you're maybe wanting that guy to marry you, maybe you should make this soup, but you do it.
And, but you kind of also let yourself off the hook by saying, I can't remember how you phrase it, but it was beautiful.
[42:00] But, um, Um, did, did, did you really have marry me soup the day that he proposed?
No, no, this is like my fictional world that you're outing me on, on your podcast.
No, like I just make things up because I think it's funny.
Um, he proposed actually, we were up at my cottage and it was in a canoe and I had said to him, like, because we had been together for so long, I had asked him like, make sure I look good when you propose so that we can get some pictures. I was wearing the worst.
I was in my pajamas and he proposed in a canoe and I have a picture.
It was just, it was, it was a moment.
I was certainly surprised, but no, the soup. So I don't know.
It probably took off on TikTok.
There was this recipe. It's called marry me chicken. And it's like a creamy based sauce with chicken in it and sun dried tomatoes.
And I was like, listen, we need a plant based version of this.
So the first one I made was marry me pasta. And it is so good.
It's the same similar concept, you can use cashew cream or coconut milk and then sun dried tomatoes.
And it makes this like beautifully colored sauce.
And then I was and then I wanted to make it into a soup. So that's how that happened.
[43:24] But yeah, it is tasty enough. It is tasty enough that it could elicit a proposal.
So just a friendly warning.
Well, going from marry me soup, I want to go to, and again, this goes back to, how thoughtful you are with your scripts and your content creation.
But I want to go to your red lentil coconut curry, also known as dal.
You say it's ready in 15 minutes. You say, this is going to go from a one-night stand to a weekly rendezvous.
[44:00] That's quickies. Oh, my gosh. I have so much fun with quickies. I'm serious.
You do. do. And I just was cracking up watching that.
I am dying to do a quickies cookbook.
Hopefully my publisher isn't isn't listening or maybe they will and be like, that's a great idea. But I think it's so much fun.
So yeah, I like to have some and people will be like, Oh, did she do that intentionally?
Yes, I'm doing it all intentionally. I love to have fun with it. Why not?
Right. So So, but that's one of my favorite series right now, because I think that people are so time starved that quick and easy meals are the key to making a plant-based lifestyle sustainable for the longterm.
And I'm especially seeing that with my sister who has a baby.
I just, I cannot believe how time consuming a baby is and then how people have the time to make nourishing meals.
So that's really kind of the inspiration for that. Yeah. Yeah. Quickies.
Nothing like a good quick meal. Nothing like it.
Teasing the upcoming book "Scrappy Cooking"
[45:08] You have a, and this is a recipe that's in your new book that's coming out.
And I want to talk about that right now, just for a sec. Well, we're going to tease people because I'm going to have you back on the podcast in about three months when Scrappy Cooking comes out.
But talk to us about these cabbage steaks that you have in Scrappy Cooking.
[45:31] Cabbage is something I don't use enough of. love and in the vein that we're talking about right now, cabbages are so cheap or I should say economical, right?
[45:41] So there's so much you can do with them. And can you talk about that cabbage steak that you make?
Yes. So we, in the new book, the whole concept of the new book, I'm very worried that when people hear scrappy cooking and even some of my more popular recipes in this series have been like very scrappy things.
So maybe like turning banana peels into bacon or something like that.
But really the concept of the new book is using what you have in your fridge.
So whether it's like half a cabbage and being really customizable to those produce items that are often left behind and then wilt away and then you don't get to, that's what I want to avoid to help people eat healthier and reduce their waste.
So I have this amazing cabbage shake recipe that are drizzled with this, just, I am obsessed with tahini right now.
I would put it on everything if I could, but it's this tahini miso sauce, or you can use any nut butter that you want.
And the cabbage, once it's roasted, it's like twice roasted, becomes melt in your mouth delicious. It is so good.
I love to serve it with butter beans to make sort of a more complete meal in quinoa or rice. And it is just so delicious.
Melt in your mouth. You can describe a cabbage in that way. That's what it is.
Yeah. I cannot wait to get my hands on that.
[47:09] While we're talking about scrappy cooking, do you know when your next book actually is going to be available?
Is it like April? Is it May? When is it?
It's April 2nd. So April 2nd, 2024 and it coincides with the start of earth month.
So I'm hoping to raise awareness in that way about food waste, which is an issue.
I love that. And so tell people that are listening right now.
[47:41] Why you would love it if they would pre-order?
Oh man, thank you, Rip. That's music to my ears.
So pre-orders really mean so much to authors.
As you know, being an author yourself, they help get you marketing opportunities.
They count towards all of the major bestsellers lists, including the New York Times bestsellers list.
And they really build momentum for your book so that when it's out, people share about your book. And it just, I always like to say it's the biggest indicator of success for a new book.
So as a thank you for everybody who pre-orders PlantYou Scrappy Cooking, we've got this whole bundle of freebies.
We just put up a new vegan cheese making ebook that I put together as well as 101 vegan snack ebook and so much more.
I think it's a bundle worth over $200 of digital freebies.
So anybody who is thinking about pre-ordering, which I would be so grateful for, and check check out your local bookstores to support them.
You can see all of the retailers and information on the book at scrappycookbook.com.
Awesome.
Do you have any new year's resolutions?
Choosing a Word of the Year
[48:54] I don't think so. I don't know how big of a resolution person I am.
I saw, I really like picking a word of the year.
And I think my word last year was perseverance.
And I saw the Korean and vegan post her word of the year is calm, which I really liked.
So I might be stealing that. But I haven't decided on my year yet.
My my word yet my year worked the year before when my cookbook came out was boundless.
So it really, it really set a tone, but I don't have any specific New Year's resolutions.
I think that we can choose to be healthier at any time and build these sustainable sustainable habits into our lives.
And I think I came into the year with some habits that I'm really happy with, that I want to keep consistent with.
How about you? Do you set New Year's resolutions?
I haven't. I haven't. No, I've never been a New Year's resolution kind of person, right?
[49:54] But I like what you said about a word, and then maybe picking a word that kind of feels feels right to you in the beginning of the year.
And then maybe coming back to that throughout the year, right?
Whether it's calm or perseverance or bountiful or whatever it is.
So you've given me something to think about today.
Yay. Yeah, I think it's nice. And then you'll see patterns in your life as the year unfolds and how you react to things and can kind of come back to that word and think about it, right? So it gives you something to reflect on.
But I think any time can be a new beginning, right?
If you want to start working out three times a week or you want to introduce a meatless meal, that doesn't have to start on January 1st. It could start on the 25th of January or whenever.
I want to ask you about a couple recipes and then I'm going to let you go because I'm going to hit you hard the next time that we're together.
With the scrappy cooking, I can't wait. Oh, yeah. This has been so fun, though.
Vegan Marshmallow Recipe
[50:57] So New Year's Eve, one of the things that we do, we always have a group of people and we get in our backyard and we have a little fire and we sit around and we chat. and we also do s'mores.
And the only vegan marshmallows that I know of that are out there right now that are really any good are the dandies.
And I really, I love the two guys that founded the company. They're so much fun.
But my question to you is you have got the perfect vegan marshmallow recipe and I am dying.
[51:35] Like let everybody know if you can off your memory, How do you make it?
Because I want to surprise my family and do this this weekend.
Yes. So they are so delicious. So to make vegan marshmallows, it's actually a scrappy recipe.
And you're going to use the water from a can of chickpeas, which if you didn't know the water from the can of chickpeas, I like to call liquid gold, because if you use a hand whisk or a stand mixer, you can actually mix it up and it will create like a meringue.
So if you think of like a lemon meringue pie, it will create a really thick meringue.
Meringue. The key to keeping that thick and creating stiff peaks, which is what you need for the marshmallows is cream of tartar, tartar, tartar, and it will, it will make it harder.
And then you want to create like a sugar solution.
These are, this is not the healthiest recipe. I'll pre-warn you, but you want to make a, they are marshmallows after all, a sugar solution with agar agar, which is what is going to solidify.
It's a gelatin replacement for the marshmallows. And then you mix those together.
It creates this really thick cream.
You transfer that to like a little baking dish, put them in the fridge, and then you can slice them up and you've got some delicious marshmallows.
[52:50] Hmm. Yes. So, you know, right now it is, we're in the heart of the playoffs.
Oh yes. Football season. Are you a football fan at all?
Um, no, but I've been getting into football this year because I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan.
Oh, I am a huge Swifty and I now love Travis Kelsey, of course.
Right. Well, it's incredible to me how much attention, you know, I think, I think Taylor Taylor Swift gets as much attention as, you know, any football player.
I think she's brought a whole new, like, light on the Kansas City Chiefs.
And the other day, I think it was Saturday or Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs were playing in the playoffs.
And I never see Taylor Swift in the stands.
For some reason, I just haven't. And so I'm like, okay, the next time that they show her in the stands, like, let me know.
I'm either going to the bathroom, I'm washing the dishes. I am checking something outside during the freeze.
And every time I come back, they're like, you just missed it. You just missed her.
[53:58] But anyway, I am not necessarily a Taylor Swift fan, although I do like a lot of her songs for sure.
And I haven't seen her movie. Did you see her movie that came out or have you ever seen her in concert?
I have tickets for the heiress tour in Toronto next November.
My friends want to watch the movie so bad, but I'm trying to avoid it because I want to see the concert like live for the first time.
But I think it's too far away that I'm probably going to see the movie in between.
Uh, but I am a huge Taylor Swift fan. Like I love her.
What, what, what, what are, what are some of the things about Taylor Swift that you love? love.
[54:38] She's just so inspiring. I feel like every move she makes in her career is very thought through and calculating.
She, I watched an interview with her. I think it was the times woman of the person of the year.
And she was talking about how she's been up and down the pole of public opinion a million times.
And she just always comes back up and it's like woman power.
She's just amazing. And her lyricism is so inspiring as well. Yeah. Yeah.
[55:06] Well, and she's got, she can move the needle on different things.
I know when it came to 100% doing something with Apple and she spoke up and they changed their policy because of her.
And she's decided there was a documentary that was made about her.
And I can remember watching it maybe a year and a half ago or so and being, like you said, super impressed with the thoughtfulness of her moves, the maturity that she has for her her age and how she's not afraid any longer to basically express herself and her views in different subject matters.
We need her to go plant-based. That would be a slam dunk.
That would influence so many people. So we got to keep making some videos, hoping it reaches the right people.
Billie Eilish and the Barbie movie
[55:58] We do. We do. And you know who is plant-based is Billie Eilish.
Yes. Amazing. Love her too. Whole life, right? Yeah, so cool.
And she has that song that is so popular from the Barbie movie. Yes.
Love the Barbie movie too. Yeah. Really good movie.
Tofu Flatbread: A High-Protein and Easy Recipe
[56:23] I'm going to ask you two more recipes and then you and I are out of here.
Okay. This next one is, so in our household, told, We go through a lot of tofu. You know, I've got three kids, nine, 14, 16, and you've got a tofu flatbread that is made with three ingredients that has got my name on it. Talk to me.
Yep. Just tofu. You got, you're going to blend up your tofu with a little bit of milk and add flour and it makes the most delicious flatbread.
It's high in protein, obviously. It's so easy. it comes together in literally five minutes.
So you just blend these ingredients together, recipes on my page, you're going to want to use the exact measurements and then pour it onto a pan.
And it almost makes what I would compare to like a non flatbread.
So perfect to serve with a curry as a wrap.
Delicious and high protein.
Tofu, what can't tofu be? I feel like it can be dessert. It can be bread.
It can be the main protein in your meal. Huge tofu man.
Yeah. And I just love what you created.
I mean, I never would have thought to make tofu tortillas. They just look, they were so malleable and just substantial.
[57:50] So I'm going to make those along with the marshmallows this weekend for sure.
Sounds like an interesting combo. Oh.
[58:00] I will now. And the last thing I want to talk to you about is even though it's the dead of winter spring rolls.
So you make a giant spring roll as part of your quickie series.
And the reason why is my youngest daughter, Hope, who's nine, she's obsessed with spring rolls.
She, she will make spring rolls seven nights a week.
If she could the other night, she said, said, I want to make spring rolls. I'll do everything.
I'll chop everything. I'll clean everything. I'll do everything. I'm like.
[58:29] Go after it. Let's do it. But you've got these huge giant spring rolls.
How do I make a giant spring roll for Hope?
Yeah. For a visual kind of for the listeners here, a giant spring roll would be like a fresh spring roll that looks almost like a burrito. Like it's that big.
And basically how you make it is by laying down, instead of making individual little spring rolls with like like your vermicelli noodles and your carrot and your broccoli or whatever you're putting in them, you lay down three pieces of rice paper after soaking them for like five seconds in warm water, and then you assemble as you would a burrito.
So you want to kind of like wrap each sides and then roll it over.
And then I like to kind of put it in parchment paper and slice it in half.
It is so good and so much easier to make because I do find making fresh spring rolls, which I also love.
It can be very time consuming if you're doing like all the individual ones on their own.
So I lied because I have to piggyback on that, the spring roll.
Do you think that a great dipping sauce would be for us to take an empty peanut butter jar and do something Yes.
[59:46] So one of my most popular recipes ever was making a peanut sauce out of an empty peanut peanut butter jar and adding it to noodles, but you could use it as a dipping sauce for spring rolls for sure. And that's like super easy.
So if you have a couple of tablespoons left on the edge of your jar and you're about to like throw it away or recycle, add like a little bit of soy sauce, maybe a little sweet sauce, like a sweet chili sauce, some rice vinegar, shake it up.
And you've got like a most amazing peanut sauce, which is perfect, perfect for dipping your spring rolls in. I need to let you know that I've been doing that now for about a year after I learned that.
And no peanut butter jar ever goes into the recycling bin with hunks and junk hunks and whatever of peanut butter on it.
That's what I love to hear. That is what I love to hear. So in going through your channel on Instagram, I noticed that you love sailing. Is that right?
[1:00:48] So my, I mean, I like sailing, but my parents for probably 10 years lived on a sailboat that was not huge for the winter time in Florida.
So they just sold it. They just sold it this year, which is bittersweet.
But I thought about at some point doing like a cooking series on the sailboat, but it never came to fruition.
But I think it would have been really fun. And I mean, they were doing a quite a good job of eating plant based on their kind of that formula of beans, greens and grains and keeping it really simple.
But yeah, I do like sailing, but I'm not a sailor myself, I would say.
Well, you had that very adorable video where you showed your parents and where they sleep and then where you sleep.
After the hull, I can't keep it straight. It was like a V-birth. Yeah.
Yeah, that's right. That's right. And you're like, don't you feel sorry for me?
[1:01:42] But you totally made that work.
But I've always, I guess, had this fascination with, spending a year or so on a sailboat and just making life very, very simple and just the the water all around me and going from port to port sounds, sounds really dreamy. You should do it. They loved it.
They loved it. And the best part is the marinas are so sophisticated these days that they have like great showers and amenities.
So it's really not as rough living as you would think.
You're like using the bed as your boat and maybe your cooking facilities.
But oftentimes even the marinas have like kitchens that you can use and barbecues and and stuff.
So it's a cool way to live. Yeah.
Carleigh's Sailboat Adventures and Simple Living
[1:02:26] Well, Carleigh, this has been an absolute pleasure. You are a gem.
For everybody that's out there, pre-order scrappy cooking. I wish I had a copy to hold up, but I don't, but you will soon.
I don't have my copy yet either, but you'll be one of the first. Thanks Rip. Yeah. Yeah.
And, um, and I will see you Carleigh in a couple months when we both have a copy of that new book in our hands.
You're the best. Thank you so, so much for having me. This is always so fun and I appreciate it immensely.
Absolutely. So on the way out, can you give me a virtual fist bump?
Bam. That's strong. Boom.
Love it. See you.
Pre-order Carleigh's new book, Scrappy Cooking, now!
[1:03:12] Carleigh's new book, Scrappy Cooking, is going to be released in early April, but I would encourage you to pre-order it now.
And this is important because not only is Carleigh going to give you over $120 worth of extra freebies, but it also counts towards the first week sales numbers.
And we would love nothing more than to have another one of Carleigh's cookbooks be a best seller.
You can learn more at scrappycookbook.com and I'll be sure to link to that in the show notes.
Get creative, get scrappy, and always keep it PLANTSTRONG.
[1:03:54] Music.
Introduction and Request to Share the Show
[1:04:01] The PLANTSTRONG podcast team includes Carrie Barrett, Laurie Kortowich, and Ami Mackey if you like what you hear do us a favor and share the show with your friends and loved ones you can always leave a five-star rating and review on apple podcasts or spotify and while you're there make sure to hit that follow button so that you never miss an episode As always, this and every episode is dedicated to my parents, Dr.
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. and Ann Crile Esselstyn. Thanks so much for listening.
