#137: Nisha Melvani - Practical, Approachable, and Affordable Plant-Based Meals
Author, Nisha Melvani
If you’re new to plant-based cooking and feel overwhelmed because you think it’s complicated, expensive, or maybe even boring, think again.
Registered dietitian, nutritionist, and author, Nisha Melvani makes a whole foods plant-based lifestyle simple, sustainable, and delicious in her debut book, Practically Vegan - More than 100 Easy, Delicious Vegan Dinners on a Budget.
Hundreds of thousands have already flocked to her "Cooking for Peanuts" blog and Instagram because of her relaxed, flavor-focused approach. She also uses easy-to-find ingredients that can be used in the kitchen for multiple meals, making her style budget-friendly for busy families.
Nisha has one of the most colorful and interesting backstories, with a rich diversity of culture, language, career, and education – all of which have influenced her life’s latest chapter as a cookbook author.
She and Rip discuss:
Growing up in a non-traditional household that included boarding schools, multiple moves, and a diversity of language and culture
How she initially developed her love of food, flavor, and cooking
The origin of her "Cooking for Peanuts" blog and Instagram
Her favorite spices and herbs
Cooking for three teenage girls
Her favorite ways to prepare tofu and tempeh dishes
Her go-to grains and legume dishes - (Hint: Lentils are the bomb!)
Practically Vegan is just that - a practical, approachable, and affordable guide for plantstrong meals.
Episode Resources
PLANTSTRONG Podcast Episode Page
Nisha Melvani - Cooking for Peanuts
PLANTSTRONG Coaching - Our PLANTSTRONG Coaching Program is designed to help you to apply the principles of whole food, plant-based nutrition: removing all animal products, oil, refined sugar, and excess sodium from your eating plan. In addition, we will provide dozens of tools to elevate and accelerate your success while surrounding you with one fiercely supportive and nurturing community. Now through April 5th, 2022, our annual program is $60 off
PLANTSTRONG Meal Planner - Perhaps our most powerful tool - the PLANTSTRONG Meal Planner is packed with hundreds of our favorite whole foods plant-based recipes and your membership allows you to curate a personal collection of menus so your family favorites are always at your fingertips. The integrated grocery list makes shopping a snap and our meal planning experts are on hand seven days a week to answer questions to chat about food. Save $10 off the annual membership with the code PLANTSTRONG
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Promo Music: Your Love by Atch
License: Creative Commons License - Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)
Full YouTube Transcript
Nisha Melvani:
I think frozen vegetables are great. If you need to buy stuff that's already chopped, whatever's going to make it easy for you to make your plant-based meal, just go that route because, basically, you want to make it. If it's going to be all the deterrents, that you just say, "You know what? Forget it. It's too overwhelming," then that's a much bigger loss.
Rip Esselstyn:
I'm Rip Esselstyn. Welcome to the PLANTSTRONG podcast. The mission at PLANTSTRONG is to further the advancement of all things within the plant-based movement. We advocate for the scientifically-proven benefits of plant-based living and envision a world that universally understands, promotes, and prescribes plants as a solution to empowering your health, enhancing your performance, restoring the environment, and becoming better guardians to the animals we share this planet with. We welcome you wherever you are on your PLANTSTRONG journey. I hope that you enjoy the show.
Rip Esselstyn:
Hello, my PLANTSTRONG parsnips. I'm Rip Esselstyn. I want to welcome you to another episode of the PLANTSTRONG podcast. As you know, our mission at PLANTSTRONG is to make a wholefood, plant-based lifestyle, simple, sustainable, and drop-dead delicious, which is why I absolutely know you're going to love today's guest, Nisha Melvani, a.k.a. Cookingforpeanuts on Instagram.
Rip Esselstyn:
Nisha has one of the most colorful and interesting backstories of any person I have ever encountered, with a super rich diversity of culture, language, careers, and education, all of which have melded together and influenced her life's latest chapter, author of the new book, Practically Vegan: More Than 100 Easy, Delicious Vegan Dinners on a Budget.
Rip Esselstyn:
That's just it. Her recipes are practical with easy-to-find ingredients that can be used for multiple meals, because as a busy mom to three teenage girls, living in New York City, her meals have to be simple and fast, but also delicious.
Rip Esselstyn:
Believe me, as a father to three kids myself, if the kids don't like it, they're going to say something about it fast. In fact, several of my favorite sections in her new cookbook are the sections on pasta dinners, bean and chili dinners, curry dinners, and burger and patties dinners. These are dinners that not only I am going to love and adore, but I know my old firefighting buddies at Station 2 would absolutely adore them.
Rip Esselstyn:
If you are new to PLANTSTRONG cooking and feel overwhelmed because you think it's complicated, expensive, or maybe even boring, I want you to think again. Please welcome Nisha Melvani. Nisha, it's really great to meet you.
Nisha Melvani:
Thank you, likewise.
Rip Esselstyn:
I found you, or somehow we found you. You've become quite a phenomenon on Instagram. Congrats on that channel that you've built since 2017.
Nisha Melvani:
It's been a while, right?
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah, yeah. I mean, you've come a long way in a very, relatively short period of time. You're doing really phenomenal, phenomenal work. What I'd love to do with you today is kind of talk about your journey. You have a book that is coming out very, very shortly. Just, kind of how you fell in love with cooking, where this delicious accent that you have comes from, and just dive into a little bit of Nisha Melvani. Is that how I pronounce your name?
Nisha Melvani:
Perfect.
Rip Esselstyn:
Perfect. Great. Great. For starters, where did you find your love of cooking?
Nisha Melvani:
Let me just tell you quickly about the accent. Where it's a problem is when you have captions, like auto captions in Instagram. They cannot understand me. They write all what I'm saying incorrectly because my accent does represent so many places that I've lived: Jamaica, England, Montreal, New York. None of the captions get what I'm saying.
Rip Esselstyn:
Right, right, right. You were born in Jamaica.
Nisha Melvani:
Born in Jamaica.
Rip Esselstyn:
Of all the crazy places. You have parents of Indian descent.
Nisha Melvani:
Yes. My dad migrated to Jamaica in his early 20s. My mom is born in Jamaica, but is also Indian.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow. One of the things that I found fascinating... I went to boarding school, but I went for my last two years of high school. It looks like at the age of seven, your parents sent you to boarding school in England, right?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes. I keep telling myself it was for my benefit. I think two reasons. One, they wanted me to have a British accent. Actually, they felt I would get a much better education there. I wasn't the easiest child to raise, so I think that's why it was that young. My parents worked full-time, six days a week. There wasn't much time left to really raise me. I guess they knew, in boarding school, I'd be in good hands.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, you said you were difficult. What were some of the things that made you so difficult? Because I have a very difficult seven, eight-year-old right now as well.
Nisha Melvani:
Send them my way.
Rip Esselstyn:
She. It's a she.
Nisha Melvani:
She, okay. I think I broke all the rules. I just never followed rules. If you said not to do something, that was my challenge, to just not listen to you. I think a lot of it was probably lack of attention maybe, having your parents away so much. I was raised by my nanny in Jamaica, and it was hard for her. Also, the schools... Our classroom size was very big. Everywhere, you are kind of not being watched too closely. I think a lot of it stemmed from that. You break rules to get attention, right?
Rip Esselstyn:
I mean, at the age of seven, can you remember thinking, "I don't want to go away to boarding school," or were you okay with it?
Nisha Melvani:
I do remember one incident. I don't know if I remember it correctly. I remember one incident of, probably around the time I knew, throwing eggs at a wall. For some reason, they seemed to have happened around the same time. I did get into big trouble for that. I think I couldn't voice that I didn't want to go. I don't know if I really knew that as such.
Nisha Melvani:
I remember when my parents took me the first trip over there. They hadn't seen the school yet, so we kind of arrived. Basically, they couldn't change their mind anyway because I was enrolled. I remember we had stopped at a McDonald's on the way. They had bought me a Big Mac or something like that. I thought I wasn't going to get food. I ate some of it, and I put the rest in the larder, I think they called it, the cold pantry, I guess. I remember wrapping up the rest and saving it in there in case they didn't give me any food.
Rip Esselstyn:
It wasn't like Oliver Twist, was it, the boarding school?
Nisha Melvani:
At least. I mean, the food was terrible. You had to eat it all. If you didn't want to eat certain foods, you were allowed, I guess, two foods that you could be excused from eating. Your parents had to write a letter saying that you didn't have to eat those two foods. At that time, I chose Brussels sprouts and beets because they were always mushy.
Rip Esselstyn:
Have you learned to love Brussels sprouts and beets?
Nisha Melvani:
I love Brussels sprouts. Beets, I like. I love golden beets. I think Brussels sprouts are so easy to make delicious. I just don't understand how they did such a terrible job, how they botched them up so much because it's literally one of the easiest vegetables to cook and make taste good.
Rip Esselstyn:
I find roasting Brussels sprouts really brings out the flavor and is nice. If you boil them in water or something, it's like, ugh.
Nisha Melvani:
Roasting's so easy. It's like, you just toss them in some olive oil, a little salt, black pepper, and you're good. My kids even love that.
Rip Esselstyn:
Were you at this boarding school in England from, basically, first grade until your senior year?
Nisha Melvani:
I was there until college, but I switched schools three times. Again, I don't really stay in one place for very long, but I have been in New York City and married for almost 22 years.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
That's huge for me. I have had quite a few careers and different friend groups. I just would get bored and go somewhere else. I went to three different boarding schools because of... My reason then was that the previous ones weren't academic enough, so I would switch and then switch again. That's really hard because you have to remake friends all over again. Making friends in high school isn't the easiest endeavor.
Rip Esselstyn:
Were all these boarding schools in England?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes, all different parts of England.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow. Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
You're making me emotional now, talking about it.
Rip Esselstyn:
No. It's good. It's good. It's good. It's good. I mean, I want to take a little bit of a walk down memory lane. It's all right. You went to Montreal for college, right?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes.
Rip Esselstyn:
I mean, and Montreal is... That's quite the city. You have to speak French there, right? They do French and English, but it's very fun.
Nisha Melvani:
Both, yeah.
Rip Esselstyn:
I think they call it a mini Europe or something like that. What do they call it?
Nisha Melvani:
It really is. It feels like that. The cobblestone street and the light... It's beautiful.
Rip Esselstyn:
I've always loved Montreal. What was that experience like for you, college in Montreal?
Nisha Melvani:
Again, I planned to take a gap year when I finished my A-levels in England. I was going to take a year off, but I hadn't told my parents that. They just assumed I was going to be going to college. When I arrived back in Jamaica, because they still live there, I said, "Oh, I'm taking a year off, so I'll be home."
Nisha Melvani:
They were just flabbergasted, like, "What do you mean?" They're like, "No, no, no. You're going to college." McGill was the only school I knew of that would take me in January. This was a whole last-minute plan. I literally applied in September or something, and applied for January, and got in. I'd never been to Canada, ever. I had no idea about Montreal being cold.
Nisha Melvani:
I mean, I'm from Jamaica. It's tropical weather. I landed in January. No one came with me. I landed in Montreal. The first thing that happened is my eyelashes froze. The tears just froze. I was like, "Oh my gosh. This has never happened to me, ever."
Rip Esselstyn:
Tears from crying or tears from the cold?
Nisha Melvani:
I think both. I kind of just threw myself in there. I have to say, though, it was, I think, my favorite place I've ever lived.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow. Well, McGill is quite a university. I mean, that's a great school. It's got a great reputation.
Nisha Melvani:
I did pre-med, so it's really good for medicine and pre-med.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh, pre-med, which probably served you well since you became a dietician-nutritionist.
Nisha Melvani:
Exactly. I will say, my first career was an investment banker.
Rip Esselstyn:
That was where?
Nisha Melvani:
In New York City. What happened is I did pre-med. Then I realized I wasn't probably going to be a doctor. Someone said to me, "If you do economics and do really well, an investment bank will pay for you to move to New York City, and you can live in New York City." I was like, "What? Really? That's so cool."
Nisha Melvani:
I quit pre-med. I kept my biology major, and I did economics in a year and a half because after doing chemistry, economics was pretty easy. I interviewed at several investment banks. Lo and behold, I actually did get a job, and they moved me here. It was a great way to come to New York City, but a year later, I no longer worked in investment banking.
Rip Esselstyn:
Is that when you became a second-grade school teacher?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes, exactly. That was great too.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow. How long was that? Did that last for half a year or a year?
Nisha Melvani:
No, I think I might have done the two-year requirement.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
I think that was a two-year requirement. I think I completed it. I knew then I loved educating. I always loved food, and I love chemistry. I wanted to go back to school, and it seemed the most natural thing for me was nutrition education.
Rip Esselstyn:
Right. Right. You got your masters in nutrition from?
Nisha Melvani:
Columbia.
Rip Esselstyn:
Columbia? Wow. Then that led you to go to cooking school, right?
Nisha Melvani:
Well, actually, when I was about to finish at Columbia, I had a baby. Then I had another baby. Then I had another baby, all within three and a half years. Career took a hold. I did finish my degree though, about six months after the first one. Even though I wasn't practicing, I was practicing because I was cooking every day. That is basically what nutrition is.
Nisha Melvani:
I never really left what I was doing. I still read journals. I educated myself. I love what I do. It was an easy career to keep at the forefront even if you're not actually counseling people. You can still stay current in your own house.
Rip Esselstyn:
Did you go to the Natural Gourmet Institute after your third child was born?
Nisha Melvani:
No, it didn't quite go like that either. I always wanted to go to the Natural Gourmet Institute, but I was a stay-at-home mom for a long time because I don't think anyone would've looked after those three kids born within three and a half years because it was pretty crazy, at least on their own.
Nisha Melvani:
I stayed home. My mom never stayed home, so I think it was important for me to stay home, having never been stayed home for. I devoted their younger years to that. Then I started the Instagram because that was something I could do from my house where I could sort of teach others about nutrition and eating, but I didn't have to leave home to do it.
Nisha Melvani:
I still am not a big social media person. My kids don't even have social media, actually, and they're teenagers. It's still a learning curve for me. My friends who are younger are so much quicker on all the new things on Instagram. I have no idea. They make fun of me all the time.
Nisha Melvani:
That's how I started the Instagram. It was more just where I would actually go into little cafes or supermarkets and show people what's the healthiest options to buy, or to eat, or choose there. Then it turned into learning how to take photographs by myself. My mom bought me a DSLR because she used to sell Nikon in Jamaica. That's kind of how it started. Then I decided to take a break off Instagram and go to cooking school.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow. That was when, 2018, 2017?
Nisha Melvani:
I think so. Everything's kind of around that.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, do you remember your first Instagram post on February 8th, 2017?
Nisha Melvani:
Was it chia pudding?
Rip Esselstyn:
It was chai chia pudding, exactly.
Nisha Melvani:
Oh, wow.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, it's actually cha chia banana nice cream, is what it was.
Nisha Melvani:
Wow, you did your research.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh yeah. I mean, it was fun. It was an absolute blast. Watching when you got your first thousand followers and then hundred thousand, I mean, you're sitting at 435K right now. That's substantial following.
Nisha Melvani:
It's funny. It means much less now than it did then. I feel now it's... You've matured. It's been so many years. I think the numbers are less important now than how many people you actually really help, I think.
Rip Esselstyn:
Amen to that. We'll get back to Nisha in just a second. I wanted to share a quick review we recently received on Apple podcast. I love it because the subject line reads, "Aspiring wholefoods, plant-based human."
Rip Esselstyn:
It reads, "I listened to all of the episodes while working from home. Now that I've returned to the office, I am so excited when a new episode is released, and I can listen to it on my commute. It's my favorite inspirational, wholefood, plant-based podcast. I'm not completely there yet, but it helps to keep me on track and my frame of mind in the right place."
Rip Esselstyn:
First of all, thank you for this lovely review. We love it when people take the time to share how the podcast has helped your life. Second, keep it going. You said that you're not there yet. That's okay. Switching to a wholefood, plant-based lifestyle is simple, but it's not easy.
Rip Esselstyn:
My team and I recognize that, which is why we have so many resources to help you on your journey, including our PLANTSTRONG coaching program, which is designed to help you apply the principles of wholefood, plant-based nutrition by removing all animal products, processed and refined oils, refined sugars, and excessive sodium from your eating plan.
Rip Esselstyn:
In addition, we will provide dozens of tools to elevate and accelerate your success while surrounding you with one fiercely supportive and nurturing community. Check it all out at planstrong.com. Now through April 5th, take 60 bucks off our annual program. Keep it going, my friends, and let us help you.
Rip Esselstyn:
It's interesting. I want to go back for a sec to your mother and your father because you talk about how your mother was a Spam-loving woman that hated to cook and really did not enjoy vegetables. It's kind of nutty to me that you've kind of landed in this place where you love fruits and vegetables. You love to cook. I mean, what does your mother think about what you're doing? She must be so proud.
Nisha Melvani:
You know they have Pumpkin Spice Spam now? Sorry. I just thought that was so interesting. I sent her a big photo of it. I'm like, "Look, Mom. They made it for you."
Rip Esselstyn:
That is crazy. Is she still doing Spam or?
Nisha Melvani:
She still eats Spam.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
I mean, actually thinks it's food.
Rip Esselstyn:
That's remarkable. Didn't you mention, I think I read in your book, that she... I mean, I'm assuming this isn't too much information because you talked about it in the book. Didn't she also have to have a foot of her colon removed?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes, exactly. She did. That was quite recent. I spoke to her about it. I think something came up around it because she had to have a colonoscopy. They said, "Oh, it doesn't look amazing." It was about a couple weeks ago. She's like, "I'm never changing what I eat. I've made it this far. I probably have another foot to go, and I'll be fine. It'll give me another 10 years or... " She just says, "I'm enjoying my life. I'm not going to change."
Nisha Melvani:
That's who she is. I just have to accept that. I think I am what I am today because she actually encouraged me to do this, which is interesting. She bought me the camera. She actually told me, "You have to go to cooking school. I'm making you go." She is really my biggest supporter, probably.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
It's interesting. Then my dad is a huge emotional support for me, but he always-
Rip Esselstyn:
Are they still together? Are your mother and father still together?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes, they are. They complement each other. That's it. They are so different, but they actually have a lot of respect for each other, now that I can really see it. It wasn't always easy, but they do really love each other.
Rip Esselstyn:
I mean, you said that your father loves vegetables, right? The thing that just knocked me over about your father is that, here's a man that can eat a banana with the banana peel. I didn't even think that was possible unless you were a Billy goat.
Nisha Melvani:
He's really something, I have to tell you. My dad is just a special person. He grew up in Kannur in India. He had nothing. To eat, he would raid orchards and steal apples with his friends. He barely had shoes. Growing up, that was a food he'd find, is fruit everywhere, that he could just steal. That's kind of how he grew up.
Nisha Melvani:
Vegetables were always, and fruit were always, a mainstay of his diet. My kids... I remember when he did the banana-peel thing. My kids were there. They just were mesmerized because he literally didn't struggle at all. It was like he's done this his whole life. He's like, "Of course, you always eat the whole food." I think he took that literally, eat whole foods. He eats the whole foods.
Rip Esselstyn:
I mean, I've heard of people eating the peels of mango, but never a banana.
Nisha Melvani:
I do that, actually.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
You know the yellow mangoes? What are they?
Rip Esselstyn:
The champagne.
Nisha Melvani:
I eat the skins. Actually, it's funny because my kids were watching me two days ago. I was like, "Yeah, they're slightly bitter. They're great." It's so much work to peel them, and they don't taste that bad.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow. I've got one right behind me here.
Nisha Melvani:
You should try it. It's good.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, I guess I'll be sure to wash it off pretty nicely. Then do you just bite into it like an apple?
Nisha Melvani:
No, I sliced it, but I didn't peel the slices. You know when you just cut the four sides off, so you just have the seed.
Rip Esselstyn:
Okay. Yeah, yeah. Nice. I'll give it a whirl. I do the kiwi with the whole everything on.
Nisha Melvani:
We eat kiwis almost every morning. I have one child who just makes me peel it for her. I eat her peel because I know how good the peel is. Literally, my bowl is full of peel too.
Nisha Melvani:
I think what I do get from my dad is I can eat anything, bitter. I have a very high tolerance for taste, any tastes. It's a little unusual. My kids are always surprised.
Rip Esselstyn:
Even eggplant? You like eggplant?
Nisha Melvani:
Yeah, I actually made some yesterday because I needed to do a photo.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
I can't think of a vegetable that I don't like. I really...
Rip Esselstyn:
How would you make me like eggplant? What dish would you make for me?
Nisha Melvani:
Actually, the dish I made yesterday... I don't know if I could show it to you in my book. It's a really pretty picture, is-
Rip Esselstyn:
Do you know what page it is?
Nisha Melvani:
It's the eggplant ratatouille. It's in comfort food.
Rip Esselstyn:
You go ahead and find it. I'm just going to... This is the book that Nisha has put together, Practically Vegan. Why's it called Practically Vegan? That's such a, kind of, unusual combination.
Nisha Melvani:
I have gotten so much flack about that because-
Rip Esselstyn:
Does it mean barely or almost vegan, or practically vegan?
Nisha Melvani:
I know. I'm wondering if I should really have gone with this name. The way I meant it was, when I was writing the proposal, I was like, these recipes really are practical. You're using the same spices in different ways over and over again. You're using the same condiments in different ways over and over again.
Nisha Melvani:
You are never having anything gathering dust in your pantry. You are becoming really competent with those spices, and herbs, and condiments because you're using them over and over again, and you're finding different ways to do it. It's very budget-friendly. It's very practical. You don't have to be completely vegan to enjoy them. You can be someone who wants to eat more vegan and practically vegan. That's sort of-
Rip Esselstyn:
I think it makes a lot of sense. I'm actually kind of playing with you a little bit.
Nisha Melvani:
No, I know.
Rip Esselstyn:
I think it's a great title.
Nisha Melvani:
Really?
Rip Esselstyn:
I do. I do.
Nisha Melvani:
I have met a lot of Instagram followers that say, "Why did you call it that? Is it vegan? Is it not vegan?" It's a good conversation starter, anyway.
Rip Esselstyn:
It is. Great one.
Nisha Melvani:
It's page 178.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh, okay. 178, yep. Got it. That's it right there. Oh, the inverted ratatouille. There she blows. All right. Well, the next time-
Nisha Melvani:
Well, I actually made that yesterday.
Rip Esselstyn:
Really?
Nisha Melvani:
I think it's eggplant. You score it, so the flavor really gets absorbed into it. You, always my favorite method, roast it. Then you make a whole kale, and chickpea, and with lots of spices sauce. Then when you take out the eggplant, you top it with all that tomatoey kale and chickpeas. It's great.
Rip Esselstyn:
It sounds good. I would love to try it. The way you were just talking right there, and you talk about it in the book, is one of the things you're always trying to do is build flavor. I'd love it if you could talk about different ways that people at home can build flavor to their plant-based, vegan cooking, whether it's with spices, whether it's with herbs, seasonings, condiments.
Nisha Melvani:
For me, I always start with aromatics, which is your ginger, your onion, your green onion, your red onion, white, yellow, whatever color you want, and garlic. I think the amounts, to me, aren't always written. It's sort of, I eyeball it. I think once people cook enough, that just comes naturally.
Nisha Melvani:
I feel once you have your aromatics and then you cook that, and then you add spices, herbs. You can either use fresh or dried. Don't beat yourself up because you don't always go and buy yourself fresh herbs. Just making your own plant-based meal at home is enough.
Nisha Melvani:
I have a lot of condiments like mustard, different mustards, tamari, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, coconut aminos, nutritional yeast. I have a set, sriracha, a certain set that I play with, vinegars, vegan Worcestershire sauce. I can never say that word.
Rip Esselstyn:
I know. I've got a serious problem with it too. It's Worcestershire. I don't know.
Nisha Melvani:
Yeah, I need to practice.
Rip Esselstyn:
What about dulse flakes?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes, I do have those too. I love those, even on popcorn, right? I basically have a set, which is in the book, of spices, herbs, and condiments that I just always have. When I do my grocery shopping, it's really easy because I just see which of those am I short of and buy my aromatics. Then which vegetables I buy is not really that important because you can really use them all in these.
Nisha Melvani:
The recipes are so versatile, and the way I cook is very versatile. If you ask my kids, I never know what I'm making for dinner. When I go to the supermarket, I see what's available, what's priced well, what looks fresh. There isn't this plan. The plan is that I need my aromatics, my vegetables, some kind of protein, some kind of starch, and the condiments and spices. That's it. Once I do that enough, I can just vary everything, depending on taste.
Rip Esselstyn:
A quote that I saw related to your book, which I think reflects very well on it, is, "Culinary adventure meets weeknight simplicity to make satisfying, simple, and economical dinners."
Nisha Melvani:
Where's that from?
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh gosh. I can't remember.
Nisha Melvani:
You know more about my book out in the world than I do.
Rip Esselstyn:
I saw it. I was like, "Oh, I like that. That's good."
Nisha Melvani:
I like that too.
Rip Esselstyn:
It sounds like those are things that are very important to you, the simplicity, satisfying. It sounds like you're very conscientious about the price of things. Then, I mean, your Instagram handle is, what, Cookingforpeanuts.
Nisha Melvani:
Yes. There's another play on words. I seem to just always go with playing on words for some reason.
Rip Esselstyn:
Let's talk about other ways to kind of, well, elevate plant-based cooking. For example, you... Let me think for a sec. Beans and grains... Do you have a certain beans or grains that you love working with?
Nisha Melvani:
It's funny because everyone's so focused on protein. Oh, you're not going to get enough protein. Now, it's very rare that you would not be getting enough protein. It's so easy, actually, to get protein. It's really fiber that so many people in this country are deficient in. It's fiber. What's great about beans and the whole grains you're talking about is they're rich in fiber and protein.
Nisha Melvani:
I think that's what people should focus on more, is fiber. That's lentils, legumes. That's where you're really going to get it. You really don't need to think about protein. You're going to get protein. I think it's an important point you bring up.
Nisha Melvani:
I think sauces and dressings are key to vegan or any cooking. Once you master a few good dressings and sauces that you love, you can add them to most beans, most salads. A great lentil salad with your favorite dressing... You just put tons of chopped veggies in it, and it's going to be great as long as you love the dressing. Add as much dressing as you want.
Rip Esselstyn:
You have a whole section in the back of the book on sauces, and dressings, and hummuses, and things of that nature.
Nisha Melvani:
I do. I feel it's all about the sauce and the dressing. Even for my kids, they'll eat anything if you've dressed it well.
Rip Esselstyn:
I have a question for you on sauces, and dressings, and for that matter, most of the recipes in this book. You use oil in your book, but you also mention that many of your recipes, it can be made oil-free.
Rip Esselstyn:
My audience is, for the most part, steering away from added oils. I'm wondering, in your book, is it easy just to leave out the oil, and if you do, do you need to substitute it with something else, or does it depend on the recipe?
Nisha Melvani:
Right. It does depend on the recipe. I understand the leaning away from oils because there are many other healthy sources to get those good fats from, nuts and whole foods, that are a great choice. I can relate to that. I think when I don't want to cook with oil, I'll use vegetable broth, or coconut aminos, or lemon juice, or some kind of balsamic vinegar for roasting to add flavor.
Nisha Melvani:
You could just omit the oil and add some garlic powder, onion powder, and balsamic vinegar, and roast, and it tastes great. Where you cook your aromatics, you can omit the oil and just use vegetable broth instead to add a little flavor to that. I have a lot of curries, and stews, and soup, that kind of recipe, which is saucy. You can totally just use vegetable broth.
Rip Esselstyn:
I noticed in one of your hummuses... I can't remember which one it was. You actually used an ingredient that I've never seen before in a hummus, and that was baking soda.
Nisha Melvani:
Right. It made the texture much lighter. It just lifted it. Actually, it's funny. That was one of the last recipes I did because I had a different hummus in there. I wasn't fully happy with it. I felt like the texture was still too dense. I wanted something really light. That's what I was imagining. I actually sent it back to the editor and said, "Actually, I want you to replace it with this."
Rip Esselstyn:
Nice.
Nisha Melvani:
Good memory. This is a two-year process.
Rip Esselstyn:
I know. I know. I know. You mentioned, I mean, Jonathan Safran Foer. Am I pronouncing that right?
Nisha Melvani:
Foer, I think.
Rip Esselstyn:
He wrote the forward to your book. It sounds like you guys kind of bumped into each other because your kids go to the same school. Have you made any meals for him, or has he tried some of your recipes?
Nisha Melvani:
How it all actually started is his eldest has Instagram. They were vegetarian for the longest while, maybe since birth. I don't remember. He would make my recipes. I think that's how Jonathan found me, actually, was through his son.
Rip Esselstyn:
Nice.
Nisha Melvani:
His mom also knew about me because when he was at his mother's, he was making them. He is so sweet. He literally will tell my daughter, "I made your mom's pasta the other day, and I loved it." It's that that really keeps me going. It's just so endearing to hear. That's how Jonathan learned about me. Then he said to me, "If you write the book, I'll write your foreword." I never wanted to write a book. I really didn't.
Rip Esselstyn:
I know the feeling.
Nisha Melvani:
I was like, "How do I turn that down? That's like once in a lifetime. I have to write this book." He was thinking, "Oh, you would just take all your Instagram recipes. You would just transpose them into a book and use your photos," but it went nothing like that. The recipes are not the same. They're almost all different, almost all new. None of the photos are from my Instagram. He set me up for a lot of work.
Rip Esselstyn:
Sometimes we don't know what we're getting into, and that's a good thing. It's a good thing.
Nisha Melvani:
Yes, that's true.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, in the book, it turned out so absolutely beautiful. The photography is magnificent. I'm assuming that you did not do that yourself with your-
Nisha Melvani:
No, I did not.
Rip Esselstyn:
With the camera your mother bought you, no?
Nisha Melvani:
No. That was part of the agreement. I was quite happy to have a professional photographer, Dana Gallagher, who is amazing, because it allowed me to focus on the recipes and not be stressed. She's incredible. We did the photos in COVID.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
Actually, it was stressful. Everyone was wearing masks. Do you meet in person? I ended up going there to her studio every day. The food stylist... Her father had passed away right before the shoot, so we found another one who was incredible too. It sort of worked out, but it was all falling apart till it wasn't.
Rip Esselstyn:
Right. Right. Well, isn't that something? I know. Well, I'm very glad that you decided to write the book and put forth the work and the energy that it takes to get this out into the universe. You're going to be glad too. You probably already are.
Nisha Melvani:
It's sort of like a dissociation at this point. Do you know what I mean? When you really work so hard on something for so long and then your job is sort of over, you're kind of just observing now. It's nice to be the observer.
Rip Esselstyn:
Now we're doing the marketing.
Nisha Melvani:
Well, actually, today something... because my kids aren't always the most supportive. They're teenagers. Today my eldest was late for school. She was on her way to school, and she sends me a text. She's like, "Mom, look. My friend's mom just found your book in South Carolina, in a bookstore on the shelf. She was like, "I'm so proud of you." She hasn't said that till now, but it was really nice to-
Rip Esselstyn:
Nice.
Nisha Melvani:
This is sort of the part that's so beautiful, when your kids are like, "Wow. My mom really did something meaningful."
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah. That is really neat. I can remember. Remember I was a firefighter. My book, The Engine 2 Diet, came out in 2009. All these guys that basically thought that I was just a kook, right... All of a sudden, I'm on Good Morning America, right, and The Today Show. All of a sudden, it's like, "There's my boy. That's my boy, Rip."
Nisha Melvani:
They definitely think I'm a kook, also, so I can relate. That's amazing, though, because at that time, we were really kooks, considered kooks.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh, big time. I'm going to just throw some different things at you here.
Nisha Melvani:
This is where I get terrified.
Rip Esselstyn:
You've had stitches three different times. Is that, every one of those, from chopping, and cutting, and dicing?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes. I no longer will have a mandolin, ever. I'm very scared of them. I think I'm just not paying attention or something. Luckily, my friend... Her husband is a hand surgeon. He is on Canal Street, which is about a 10-minute drive for me. He stitched me up every time.
Nisha Melvani:
One time, I had been cutting beets. This is not a made-up story for drama. I had been cutting beets. When I walked in, my hands were completely red. It was so scary because he knew I'd cut myself. Then the whole of my hands were bright red. She said, "For a second there, it looked so scary. We didn't know what you'd done."
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, good. What's the most stitches you've ever had at once? Three, four?
Nisha Melvani:
Three. Three and three. Three times, three stitches, once.
Rip Esselstyn:
Not too brutal. In looking through your Instagram feed, in looking through your book, I think one of the products that I see that you seem to absolutely love and adore... You have a quote. You say, "When life gives you tofu, what recipe should I make?" I've seen more recipes with tofu. How much do you love tofu?
Nisha Melvani:
So much so that I actually have some batches of frozen tofu in my freezer right now, ready to make some chicken with. There's a whole myth of soy being bad for you. I actually talk about this in my book. No study has found that to date. I make a joke. My husband's been eating soy for years, and he still hasn't grown any breasts. I would know.
Nisha Melvani:
People ask me that so much. I think I just want people to understand that it really is okay to eat soy and tofu. Yes, I do love tofu because it's so versatile. It just goes with almost anything. One of my favorite ways to have tofu is to crumble it and make a bolognese. The trick is to saute it really well, first, so it has almost a crunchy texture.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh.
Nisha Melvani:
If you crumble it really fine, and you use a large skillet so there's enough surface area... If you're oil free, just go with a very non-stick surface. What I would do in that case, to be oil-free, is I would add a little coconut aminos because then you're caramelizing it almost. It flavors that tofu before you then go, and use it, and add it to the sauce.
Rip Esselstyn:
Nice. Then are you using different spices?
Nisha Melvani:
Tons. It's paprika, chipotle, cayenne, chili powder, nutritional yeast, tamari-
Rip Esselstyn:
Are those-
Nisha Melvani:
Garlic powder. It's no chopping though. You do not have to chop one thing.
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah, no stitches.
Nisha Melvani:
No stitches. I should do that. Stitch-free recipes.
Rip Esselstyn:
That's right. The spices that you're using with the tofu... Is it similar to what you use when you're making your tofu beef tacos?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes, exactly.
Rip Esselstyn:
Like the walnut meat?
Nisha Melvani:
What you'll find is once you get the tofu meat down, you can use it in so many things. You just kind of, oh, I'll use it in this dish. I'll make a soup with it to add more protein, more good fat, or just make a more substantial meal. Once you just get that whole tofu meat thing down, you can use it in so many ways.
Rip Esselstyn:
You just mentioned that you've got some tofu in the freezer right now. That's a combination that I think a lot of people don't associate. Why would tofu be in the freezer?
Nisha Melvani:
Right.
Rip Esselstyn:
I've been doing that for years, and years, and years. You mentioned, you do it twice, right?
Nisha Melvani:
Yes.
Rip Esselstyn:
You'll take it out, thaw it, and then freeze it again. What's going on with the freezing?
Nisha Melvani:
Food safety-wise, I don't know if it's the best thing, but I've not gotten sick yet. What it is is it just makes it even more spongy. I think what you're doing is the ice crystals are enlarging those spores, or inside the pores, whatever.
Rip Esselstyn:
The cells, sure.
Nisha Melvani:
Yes. Then you're removing it. Then they're melting. Then you're putting it back in and enlarging them again. For some reason, it just intensifies that sort of spongy texture. You can just do it once. It's just fun for me to keep doing. I haven't done it three times.
Rip Esselstyn:
Then do you find that the way that you slice your tofu into different shapes and patterns, like triangles, rectangles, squares, cubes, also has an effect on the flavor and the dish?
Nisha Melvani:
I'm so tempted to show you this tofu because it's right there.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh, go get it. Go get it. Go get it. Go get it. For those of you that don't know, tofu is 40% fat, 40% protein.
Nisha Melvani:
This is a first. Here it is. It's frozen in this container. I actually put in the fridge this morning. Again, I don't like to do too much work, so I didn't chop anything this time. I literally just broke it.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh yeah. You sure did. Is this the first or second time that you froze them?
Nisha Melvani:
This is the first. Can you see?
Rip Esselstyn:
Yep, right there. We can see it. Yep, absolutely.
Nisha Melvani:
It turns yellow.
Rip Esselstyn:
It looks like cauliflower.
Nisha Melvani:
Yeah, it does. I basically just broke it into chunks. Then what I'm going to do with it is I'm going to toss it in some seasoning, some nutritional yeast, and I'm going to air fry it.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh. Does that mean you have an air fryer?
Nisha Melvani:
I do. I don't use it enough. I like my air fryer. It's a little, cute Cuisinart one that... It seems less toxic. The inside is more stainless steel. I do.
Rip Esselstyn:
I think a lot of ovens these days... You can put it on different settings, like bake, convection, blah, blah, blah. I'm wondering if that has a similar effect.
Nisha Melvani:
Should I tell you a secret? I don't have a working oven.
Rip Esselstyn:
Really? Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
I did. I did when I wrote my book because I wasn't at home. It was COVID. My oven broke in my apartment about two years ago. I haven't fixed it yet. What I did do, because there's a whole other story behind that. What I did do is I bought a Breville toaster oven, convection oven, and it's so good. The negative is you can't cook a lot of anything, so I'll have to do batches.
Nisha Melvani:
If you actually don't have an air fryer, you can use that toaster oven. I use it for everything. You can just put it on the convection setting, and it works exactly the same. Another trick I've learned is, with chickpeas, people always say, "I can't get them crispy. They don't get crispy." What I like to do is after you roast them for about 15 minutes, I put it on the broil setting in the toaster oven. I put it on the broil, and I do it for two to three minutes until it looks really crispy, and it always works.
Rip Esselstyn:
Then what do you do with those then, now that they're crispy? Do you put them in salads or anything?
Nisha Melvani:
Anything, yeah. Salads are a favorite. I mean, you can put them directly into curries and stuff, but I kind of like when they have that texture first.
Rip Esselstyn:
I think one of my... Well, first, let me say that in going through your book, you are speaking to not only me, but all the firefighters that are out there that love pasta dishes, and burger dishes, and curry dishes, and chilies. You have a whole Asian fake-out section. These are hearty, wonderful, satisfying dishes.
Rip Esselstyn:
I want to go back to the curry. I am such a fan of curry, but I don't use coconut. Instead, I'll use coconut extract. I don't use coconut milk. I think I noticed that it was your... I think it was your red lentil go-to curry where you don't use any coconut in there, if I'm not mistaken.
Nisha Melvani:
I'm with you. Coconut... It's used so often in vegan cooking. It's an overkill sometimes. I agree with you. I find ways to give that delicious texture without coconut milk. That curry, I have to tell you... Anyone I've ever made it for loves that curry. It's got to be one of the most cherished recipes I have.
Nisha Melvani:
The sweet potato... I think that's the one where I sort of blend the sweet potato, gives it that texture. It's delicious. Also, I sometimes use oat milk, but you have to buy the oat milk that is... Is it barista? What's it called?
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, you mean, it's the one that they use at baristas?
Nisha Melvani:
Barista. There you go. My accent. Sorry, this is the problem with having lived in so many places. Exactly, because that one's much creamier. That also works. Sometimes I do that, or cashews. I blend cashew. You just need a very little amount, so it doesn't get overly thick. I do that sometimes.
Rip Esselstyn:
Nice. Do your daughters love your cooking?
Nisha Melvani:
It depends on the daughter. My eldest is vegan. My other two are vegan, but they like cheese. They eat cheese. They just really love cheese. They never gave it up. My youngest is an amazing cook. She cooked first in COVID, and she was 12 years old. I was working on the book. My husband was working a lot too.
Nisha Melvani:
She literally could walk into the kitchen, look at what we have, which is how I cook, and just create a meal, at 12. She's so competent. She's actually a very good baker. She's a big mess when she does. She's very mindful. Everything she does is very slow. If you want to eat at 7:00, you'll have to notify her around 4:00.
Nisha Melvani:
Everything in life she does is like that. It's actually really beautiful to watch because I think so many of us have lost that, that mindfulness. The middle one sort of could go either way. My eldest, who's going to college this year, is so bad in the kitchen. She's incredibly intelligent. She's a chemist.
Rip Esselstyn:
She's like your mother.
Nisha Melvani:
Yes. Well, yes. Not at all, but she loves-
Rip Esselstyn:
In the kitchen. In the kitchen.
Nisha Melvani:
Maybe worse. She loves vegetables. Last night, I said to her, "Naya." I got home late. I said, "Can you just cut some oranges for us?" She makes me peel them all, slice them really bite-size. Every day, they come from school, and I do that. I've spoiled them, I think.
Nisha Melvani:
When I tell her to cut the orange, she won't peel it. She literally just cuts a few slabs and puts it on a plate. No one eats it because it just doesn't look good. This just represents what she's like in the kitchen, in everything. I don't know if it's that she's so smart that she realized she should fake incompetence to have everything done for her, or she just sucks. I don't know.
Rip Esselstyn:
It is amazing how each one of our children, your children, every child out in the world, is their own individual snowflake, right? They really are.
Nisha Melvani:
Snowflake's a great analogy because they are all different, and yet we think they're not.
Rip Esselstyn:
They are. They are so different. I want to come back to another... It's another soy product that I absolutely adore. A lot of people don't like it, and that is tempeh, which is-
Nisha Melvani:
I knew you were going to say that.
Rip Esselstyn:
Which is fermented tofu because there's a restaurant in New York City. They used to have two of them. I think they only have one now. It's called Souen.
Nisha Melvani:
Yes. I love Souen. It's near my house.
Rip Esselstyn:
Whenever I go there, I get this tempeh platter. They have the most delicious carrots and tempeh that just melts in your mouth. It's so flavorful.
Nisha Melvani:
Yeah, I love that meal.
Rip Esselstyn:
In your book, you talk about simmering your tempeh. It just made me wonder, "Oh, is that what they did at Souen?" Is that the trick?
Nisha Melvani:
I'm so glad you brought up tempeh because I love talking about tempeh. It's actually going to be my next focus on Instagram coming up because I have an idea. That probably was my kids' least favorite food ever for a long time. I now joke that I have three tempeh-loving girls because that, to me, was the biggest challenge, is how to make tempeh taste good. I really put a lot of thought into it and effort, and I reworked it a lot.
Nisha Melvani:
Now when we have it, they actually... I'm not just saying it. They do really like it. They didn't even know it was tempeh the last time. I know it's sad that I'm trying to make it not taste like tempeh, but it's okay. What I found to be best is to either steam it or boil it for three minutes, and then let it cool or not, but better to let it cool. Then crumble it. Like the tofu, crumble it into small little crumbles and then saute it.
Nisha Melvani:
Then when you're sauteing it... Basically, the bigger surface area you can get on it, the more you can marinate, right, and season it. You don't have to crumble it. If you want to make tempeh bacon, you can do rectangles. If you slice a block into four rectangles and then you slice each of those four into two or three, I would say, go as skillfully as you can. I do three. Take a little risk. Just don't cut yourself like I do.
Nisha Melvani:
The thinner and the more surface area you can get for your tempeh and then marinate it, the better it's going to taste because it's going to absorb it more if the surface area is larger. Either cut very thin rectangles and marinate it, or crumble it and saute it with spices, and aromatics, and marinade.
Rip Esselstyn:
I like it. When you buy tempeh, do you buy a certain brand?
Nisha Melvani:
I buy Lightlife-
Rip Esselstyn:
Lightlife.
Nisha Melvani:
Because that just seems... It's always available. I like it. I think in Brooklyn, there are places that actually make it themselves, more homegrown places, and I've heard it's amazing. I think it's becoming a thing now, fermenting, making your own tempeh. Someone asked me if I do that.
Rip Esselstyn:
You don't.
Nisha Melvani:
Not yet. I wonder what it would be like. You know what? I just had a thought. I wonder what it would be like to freeze tempeh.
Rip Esselstyn:
Hmm, yeah.
Nisha Melvani:
I don't think I've ever seen that. I should try that.
Rip Esselstyn:
You need to do it as part of your-
Nisha Melvani:
Experimenting.
Rip Esselstyn:
Foray into tempeh on Instagram.
Nisha Melvani:
I'm going to try it.
Rip Esselstyn:
Let's talk for a sec. You talk about beans. You talk about gas and how beans can make people gassy. What are some things that people can do to help alleviate that, or if they have a hard problem with beans?
Nisha Melvani:
I think introduce them really slowly. If you don't eat a lot of beans, don't just suddenly decide overnight, oh, I'm going to eat beans for lunch and dinner. Introduce them slowly. Then your body will build up more tolerance to that. Don't sit too close to anyone for a few days. I think definitely soaking them and making them fresh helps. I do that.
Rip Esselstyn:
How long? How long do you soak them?
Nisha Melvani:
I soak them overnight, generally, maybe almost 24 hours. I soak them before I go to bed and then drain them before I'm going to make them and cook them. I think that helps. I think adding kombu, the seaweed, when you're cooking them helps.
Rip Esselstyn:
Are you a bean snob? Meaning, do you ever use canned beans, or do you always make yours from scratch?
Nisha Melvani:
I do both. I make mine from scratch mostly, but I do believe, and I really do believe, that you have to do what's easier for you. If you're very busy and that's... Just do it. Just rinse them. Rinse them if you're not using the liquid.
Nisha Melvani:
I think frozen vegetables are great. If you need to buy stuff that's already chopped, whatever's going to make it easy for you to make your plant-based meal, just go that route because, basically, you want to make it. If it's going to be all the deterrents, that you just say, "You know what? Forget it. It's too overwhelming," then that's a much bigger loss.
Rip Esselstyn:
You mentioned that you love tofu. You love tempeh. Is there anything else that I'm missing that you love and adore as an ingredient that you want to mention?
Nisha Melvani:
I think red lentils are the bomb because they are these tiny little gems, and they're so packed with fiber and protein. You would never think, just looking at them. I love the color. I think they're really pretty. That's one of my favorite colors.
Nisha Melvani:
They cook in less than 15 minutes. I always have them in my pantry. Whenever I'm in a crunch... Tonight, I was like, "What am I going to make for dinner? Do I have red lentils?" then I know, I'm good to go because they're so versatile. Just, I can make almost anything with them. That, to me... They're a gem.
Rip Esselstyn:
You look in your pantry. You see you've got red lentils. What are you going to make tonight for dinner with those red lentils?
Nisha Melvani:
I'm going to make a soup because I have some sweet potato, and some onion, and ginger. I'm kind of going to just wing it. I'm going to probably flavor it more Indian, like cumin, coriander. I'm going to take an Indian route, but I'm not putting any thickener. I'm going to make it a little more liquidy today.
Rip Esselstyn:
Will everybody in the house eat that?
Nisha Melvani:
They have no choice, right?
Rip Esselstyn:
Where does your husband stand in all this?
Nisha Melvani:
He has been on my journey, which has been really great, because occasionally, he'll speak to some friend in the office. He'll be like, "My friend told me I'm probably not getting enough protein." I'm just like, "I cannot educate you on this again. I cannot do it. I've been telling you this so many times."
Nisha Melvani:
Occasionally, he gets a little convinced by others, but then he always comes back. He doesn't eat meat. He feels great. We do our Iyengar yoga together. We eat the same food. It's good. We walk a lot. I think I'm fortunate to have someone who cares about their health and wellbeing too.
Rip Esselstyn:
Nice. That's great that you guys have that supportive relationship. You mentioned that yoga. What kind of yoga is that exactly? What is it? What's the practice?
Nisha Melvani:
It's the first kind of yoga that ever came to be. It's the original yoga. It was taught by B. K. S. Iyengar in Pune, which actually... Well, they say Pune. I say Pune, because I knew Pune from long ago. That's where my dad spent a lot of his life. They have a big center in New York City near me, so we've been going for years and years.
Nisha Melvani:
What I like about it is... They have various levels. I refuse to leave level one because I think there's no need to leave level one. It's so strengthening. You're doing shoulder stands. You even do a headstand, if you want to. A lot of it's based on sort of holding your position for a long time.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh, really?
Nisha Melvani:
Your arms are kind of out like this for so long. You'd be surprised how much strength you gain under here. Then you're doing warrior pose. You're holding a lot of positions for a long time. It's definitely increased my flexibility, and strength, and balance a lot.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow.
Nisha Melvani:
It's a hard class. Level one is hard. Don't be fooled, or I'll do a general level. It's changed my life, just in breathing, everything.
Rip Esselstyn:
How many levels are there?
Nisha Melvani:
I don't know. I think there might be maybe four. I don't know. I'm very happy where I am. To me, it's not looking what everyone else is doing. Remember, I like to break rules, so I'm refusing to climb the levels.
Rip Esselstyn:
Nice, nice. Nisha, this has been a lot of fun. Thank you for joining me on the PLANTSTRONG podcast. Practically Vegan... Woo-hoo. It's out there. You guys, get a copy. You'll love it. Just remove the oil.
Nisha Melvani:
Easy to do.
Rip Esselstyn:
Easy to do. Nisha, anything else that you'd like to say? How can people find you, all that good stuff?
Nisha Melvani:
Sure. I have a blog, a food blog, Cookingforpeanuts.com, where there are a lot of different options, some oil-free, gluten-free, lots of ways to adapt the recipes. You can print them. @Cookingforpeanuts on Instagram and Facebook. I'm starting TikTok, but I'm not very big there yet. Those are the main channels.
Rip Esselstyn:
Have you ridden on a bike yet this year with a basket? I know that's one of the things you love.
Nisha Melvani:
Yes. Because of COVID, I think I haven't fixed my tires yet. Because it sat here for so long, the bike. You know what? The weather's getting good now. That's going to be one of my goals.
Rip Esselstyn:
There you go.
Nisha Melvani:
For spring.
Rip Esselstyn:
Are you able to ride it to yoga class?
Nisha Melvani:
I can because they just started in person.
Rip Esselstyn:
Nice.
Nisha Melvani:
They actually moved to a smaller space, but it's even nearer to my house.
Rip Esselstyn:
Fantastic.
Nisha Melvani:
I'm going to be going there soon.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, hey, you know what? Namaste.
Nisha Melvani:
You too. Thank you.
Rip Esselstyn:
Thank you. Thank you, Nisha, for your stories, your recipes, and real-life example of living plant strong in a very busy world. You can follow Nisha on Instagram at Cookingforpeanuts. Pick up her debut book, Practically Vegan, which is out right now. Of course, we'll have all the links in the show notes. We'll see you next week. Until then, keep it plant strong.
Rip Esselstyn:
The PLANTSTRONG podcast team includes Carrie Barrett, Laurie Kortowich, Ami Mackey, Patrick Gavin, and Wade Clark. This season is dedicated to all of those courageous truth-seekers who weren't afraid to look through the lens with clear vision and hold firm to a higher truth. Most notably, my parents, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. and Ann Crile Esselstyn. Thanks for listening.
