Permission to Heal Episode #72 - A Conversation with Kathy Davis about Plant-Based Diets

Kathy Davis is a Plant-based lifestyle and accountability coach.

Kathy Davis is a plant-based lifestyle coach and recipe developer, the CEO of VegInspired.com, and the author of three cookbooks: The 30-Minute Whole-Food Plant-Based Cookbook, The Super Easy Plant-Based Cookbook, and The Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Diet Cookbook. 

 She helps people successfully transition to a plant-based way of eating that supports a fast-paced lifestyle, without requiring hours in the kitchen or added stress. Kathy has been eating and creating vegan meals for more than seven years. Over the past year and a half, she shifted her daily habits to follow a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. She experienced amazing results: renewed energy, a newfound sense of joy, and a healthier mind and body! 

Kathy’s brand, Veginspired, is dedicated to providing people with the resources to make a similar transformation. She is eager to guide others on their journey to get from where they are to where they want to be. Fun fact: Kathy and her husband, John, are living their plant-based dream while simultaneously traveling the United States in an RV with their cats. They’ve been to 22 states and 18 national parks so far and have a goal to visit all the US national parks!

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Transcript

Hello, and welcome to permission to heal. I am Marci Brockman, and I am thrilled that you are here today. Today. I have a wonderful conversation with Kathy Davis. Kathy Davis is a plant-based lifestyle and accountability coach. She helps others transition to their version of a plant-based lifestyle. 

[00:00:22] She does group coaching. She does one-on-one phone calls with her group coaching clients. She's written three cookbooks on whole food. Plant-based eating. She has a Facebook community called veg inspired foodies. She's really sweet and really knowledgeable and very motivating. I am not a vegan or vegetarian and now I kind of want. Try it, try it more. She and her husband live. This is very cool. They live in an RV and they travel all the time. They travel all over the United States. They've been to 26 states in three years and they, she says they follow the. They go where they want. They go where it's warm. They've been to all these national parks and she just, she says that she and her husband just are grateful and love that every day they wake up and they're living their best life. 

[00:01:14] I think that's amazing. Kathy Davis is a plant-based lifestyle coach and a recipe developer. She's the CEO of VegInspired.com and the author of three cookbooks. The titles, The Three Minute, Whole Food Plant-Based Cookbook. The Super Easy Plant-Based Cookbook and the budget friendly plant-based diet cookbook. 

[00:01:36] She helps people successfully transition to a plant-based way of eating that supports a fast paced lifestyle without requiring hours in the kitchen or added stress. Kathy has been eating and creating vegan meals for more than seven years. Over the past year and a half, she shifted her daily habits to follow a whole food plant-based lifestyle.  

[00:01:55] She has amazing results. Renewed energy, new found sense of joy and a healthier mind and body Kathy's bank brand Veg inspired is dedicated to providing people with the resources to make a similar transformation. She is eager to guide others on their journey to get from where they are, to where they want to be. 

[00:02:18] She's just so motivating and so great. And she used to be a school teacher. She taught elementary school and loved it and transitioned out of that when she and her husband moved. And then she found herself in business that motivated her to or I should say inspired an entrepreneurial drive in her. 

[00:02:37] And she's just, she's great. And she loves to share with people how they can easily eat more plants so I hope that you enjoy this episode and that you eat more plants. Thanks so much.
 

[00:00:00] Marci Brockmann: Hi, Kathy. How are you  

[00:00:01] Kathy Davis: today? Hey, Marcy. 

[00:00:03] Kathy Davis: I'm great. Thanks so  

[00:00:03] Marci Brockmann: much for having me. I'm so glad that you're here. I'm so glad that you're here. I have been ever since I booked you on the show, I've been curious to ask you all sorts of questions about vegetarian lifestyles and about eating more plant-based foods and, and so on. You know, I started doing. 

[00:00:21] Marci Brockmann: I started the new diet thing. I don't want to say diet, but it's, you know, the new app in, in August or September hoping it would help me readjust my relationship with food. And it has made me more conscious. And they divide foods into like green foods, which are obviously green foods that you can have an almost unlimited quantities. 

[00:00:46] Marci Brockmann: And then there's yellow foods, which are okay and you can have them, but be careful. And then there are red foods where you need to limit, limit, limit, limit. And I had a really hard time in the beginning of. Because I was eating the way I used to eat. And now slowly, you know, like when I want pizza, I eat cauliflower, crust pizza, you know, like I don't eat the pizza from the pizzeria. 

[00:01:11] Marci Brockmann: And I find that it makes me sort of sick at this point. Like it just gums up my belly and I just feel like I swallowed a football.  

[00:01:19] Kathy Davis: Yeah. And that's one of the reasons why people attend to stick with the way that they eat when they make a lifestyle change, because they start to learn the way food affects their body. 

[00:01:32] Kathy Davis: Right. And they're like, oh, this makes me feel good. I'll eat more of this. This makes me feel yucky. Let's see less of that.  

[00:01:41] Marci Brockmann: Yeah. I found that with what was I eating? It was chocolate or something. And I was so looking forward to it because I remembered the way it used to taste. And then I ate it and I was like, no, that's not even worth the calories.  

[00:01:57] Marci Brockmann: I'm not even enjoying this. It doesn't even taste good anymore. My, my, so my brain needs to unlearn what it remembers. Yeah.  

[00:02:07] Kathy Davis: That that's the key, it's all mindset, mindset, mindset. 80% of it is mindset. The way we've been programmed into thinking about food and the foods that we eat since we were born. Yeah. 

[00:02:18] Marci Brockmann: Okay. So let's not get ahead of ourselves. So you, you used to be a school teacher. What did you teach? I'm a, an english teacher full time. 

[00:02:30] Kathy Davis: I love it. That I was a fourth and fifth grade elementary school teacher in north Caroline.  

[00:02:35] Marci Brockmann: Did you like it? Did you, did you?  

[00:02:38] Kathy Davis: I loved it. I absolutely loved it. It was amazing. And then my husband and I decided to move to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and I. I was moving kind of in an awkward time to get a job teaching, you know, like the ideal times are usually end of the year, summer, right. Because you'll be there when school starts. And so I ended up with an administrative assistant job with a company and I really fell in love with that. I really fell in love with like the business side of things, finance, the money, all the things I didn't think I liked. And I, I really started to get a knack for entrepreneurial-ism and. Kind of everything's kind of evolved from then so I haven't taught in probably, gosh, I don't know, seven or eight years, maybe even longer. 

[00:03:26] Marci Brockmann: Wow.  
 

[00:03:27] Kathy Davis: Maybe even 10 years. Wow. It has been awhile. It's crazy. How far TIFF last fast time flies.  

[00:03:34] Marci Brockmann: And then somehow you transitioned from that to being a plant based lifestyle, accountability coach. How, how did you. Where did that come from?  

[00:03:43] Kathy Davis: Well, the entre, the love of the small business and doing the marketing and the budgeting and the financing and all of that, I grew pretty quickly in the company. 

[00:03:51] Kathy Davis: And when I transitioned to eating vegan, I found that there was a gap in people showing how easy it could be. I felt like it was either recipes or it was. Aggressive animal welfare tactics. And I wanted to find a blend. I really wanted to inspire people to eat more plants. And that's when veggie inspired started. 

[00:04:18] Kathy Davis: So I've been vegan for since 2014, I started begs inspired in 2015 as a. As in platform to help inspire people, eat more plants. So recipes, inspirational posts, tips, strategies, tactics, all of that. And as my relationship with eating plant based. Evolved. And I learned the difference between vegan and whole food. 

[00:04:43] Kathy Davis: Plant-based from a health perspective.  

[00:04:45] Marci Brockmann: Oh, you're going to have to clue us in because there was a difference.  

[00:04:48] Kathy Davis: Oh, there's a huge difference from a health perspective. Um, I wanted to share that with others. I wanted to share that transformation. I wanted to share the, the strategies and the tips and the foods and the recipes and the habits and the mindset that I implement. To make this big transformation. And that's how the eat more plants academy in my plant-based coaching really took off. Yeah.  

[00:05:10] Marci Brockmann: \You got a lot of stuff going on all over social media and your own Facebook group and you're yeah, you've got a lot of stuff. All of your links will be in the show notes. So if you're not driving, scroll down. If you're driving, you'll have to wait.  

[00:05:21] Kathy Davis: Yes, please wait. Don't scroll while you're driving. No,  

[00:05:24] Marci Brockmann: So. There is a difference between what did you say? Vegan and whole foods plant-based eating.  

[00:05:32] Kathy Davis: Yes. So I want you to picture whole food, right? Apples, bananas, grains, brown rice potatoes, beans, lentils, legumes. And then I want you to picture an Oreo, which is vegan and overly processed.  

[00:05:53] Marci Brockmann: An Oreo is vegan?  

[00:05:54] Kathy Davis: An Oreo was vegan, not healthy, an Oreos, not healthcare 

[00:05:59] Marci Brockmann: to an egg in there somewhere. No you'd figure  

[00:06:01] Kathy Davis: there'd be an egg. What is the cream made out of? It's not made out of dairy, like, right.  

[00:06:06] Marci Brockmann: So when you start to things we can't pronounce exactly. 

[00:06:09] Kathy Davis: When you start to unpack, this is vegan and vegans who switched from a standard American way of eating can. end up in very processed situation, vegan alternatives, vegan, processed foods. And I am not saying that there isn't a time and a place for those, but what happened to me is over the first five years of eating vegan, I became reliant on those. 

[00:06:34] Kathy Davis: I would go to restaurants and I would eat the vegan burger and fries off the menu, and I would get vegan burgers and cheese and bring it home. And I would have cheese and vegan sour cream and all of that on all my tacos. And before I knew it, five years. That healthy way of eating that I started, where I had begun to feel lighter and cleaner five years in, I was lethargic, overweight, groggy, disappointed, kind of unhappy showing all of the symptoms of prediabetes and honestly, 

[00:07:04] Marci Brockmann: really. 
 

[00:07:06] Kathy Davis: I was terrified to go to the doctor and be put on a medication. And I remember the pivot point when I said I stepped on the scale. We have three cats that we travel with and I was weighing one of them so that we could order some medication for them because I had to report the weight and I sat down the scale to do the math. 

[00:07:21] Kathy Davis: And I was like, oh, I'm at my highest weight ever. And I always tell people, like I lost 40 pounds transitioning to plant-based eating from vegan, but what I gained in doing that. Is the real transformation because that loss taught me how to have a healthy relationship with food, how to live an energized life, how to fit easy plant foods into my busy schedule, right? I'm a full-time traveler, I'm an entrepreneur, I'm a cookbook author. Like I'm busy, I'm doing all the things. And because of the way I eat, I'm able to do all the things with energy at my peak performance. And that was the big transformation. And really the thing that I wanted to empower other people to do leverage the power of plant foods. 

[00:08:11] Kathy Davis: So that's why I started, you know, vege inspired has kind of evolved into the sub sub category of the eat more plants academy, because it's really about more whole plant foods into your diet so that you can feel at your optimum performance.  

[00:08:31] Marci Brockmann: Now. Okay. Let's backtrack slightly with me. The difference between vegetarian and vegan is vegan. Doesn't eat eggs or dairy,  

[00:08:39] Kathy Davis: correct? Vegan. Doesn't eat eggs or dairy or fish. No fish either. Right. Begun is no animal products and no animal animals. Okay. So even honey, typically vegans don't eat honey as well.  

[00:08:57] Marci Brockmann: It's just bees.  

[00:08:59] Kathy Davis: Yeah, but it's so that it goes deeper than that. So when the, did you like my B I did. I love your B  

[00:09:06] Kathy Davis: sorry. 
 

[00:09:07] Kathy Davis: Commercial B production ends up replacing the honey with high-fructose corn syrup, which in the end hurts the bees. So it's like, it goes bigger than. The product itself. It's also the treatment of the animals and veganism is a very ethical decision. It's very, it's very rooted in animal welfare typically, whereas plant-based eating. 

[00:09:32] Kathy Davis: Usually more about your health. So like, I identify as an ethical vegan. I don't eat animals. I don't wear animal products. I don't use animals as entertainment, any of that, but I eat whole plant foods. I typically 99% of the time, I do not eat processed vegan foods, if that makes sense. Sure, sure,  

[00:09:53] Kathy Davis: sure. So, so. 

[00:09:57] Kathy Davis: Uh, two years ago now at this point, this whole pandemic has thrown my schedule. My whole concept of time into a, into a tizzy. I don't, I don't even know. So let's say some point about two years ago, I sought the help of a dietician to help me sort of figure out what my. Menopausal post hysterectomy, body was supposed to look like how it was supposed to function. 

[00:10:24] Kathy Davis: How am I going to figure out how to find health in all of this? So, anyway, long story short, um, she gave, I had this, this diet, yada, yada, yada, whatever sent me to the store, whole foods. And I was walking around shopping now became like a two hour epic because I was educating myself with everything that I was picking up off the shelf. 

[00:10:47] Kathy Davis: And they had all of these things like, like fake egg replacer, you know, is that like all chemical too? Like, should I, should we not eat that? I mean, if you are no insult, no judgment, go. Do you, um, I'm just, I'm trying to learn  

[00:11:05] Kathy Davis: right. Loaded question, right. Is never, we always say, um, so my perspective is the more whole food. 

[00:11:12] Kathy Davis: It can be the closer to nature it can be. And I, you know, whole food can get very confusing because there's a store called whole foods. But like, when you think about the egg replacer versus. Using tofu to make a tofu scramble or using ground flax and water to make an egg replacer when baking or using applesauce to make an egg replacer when baking or a banana. 

[00:11:35] Kathy Davis: So it's really about looking at how you're using the ingredients in a really good way to really good way to think about it is if you're in the grocery store. And the ingredient label has a lots of ingredients. It's likely very processed and we typically pick the, the more unprocessed options. So we would buy broccoli. 

[00:12:01] Kathy Davis: In the freezer section, instead of broccoli with, you know, a cheesy sauce, that's all  

[00:12:06] Kathy Davis: mixed together, vegetables. I'm a purist. When it comes to vegetables, don't add stuff  

[00:12:11] Kathy Davis: on top, or like, think about the difference between a granola type bar that you can physically see through the packaging, the nuts, the seeds, the dried fruit versus an Uber. 

[00:12:27] Kathy Davis: Granola bar where all it is is ground wheat flour that says whole grain on the front. Right. So thinking about the way things are packaged and in market, it cause a lot of it's marketing. Sure.  

[00:12:41] Kathy Davis: Somehow they're allowed to say things that make it sound like it's healthier than  

[00:12:44] Kathy Davis: it actually is. I mean, there's, plant-based products on the market that say plant-based on the front and there's eggs. 

[00:12:50] Kathy Davis: Because they used other plant-based ingredients, eggs are not plant-based. We all know that. So I have, when I'm educating clients can plant a chicken, right. Or an egg I'm educating clients. I'm like, okay. So when you look at the ingredients, you need to be aware that this could be a marketing tactic, or it could actually be plant-based, which is why it's easier for me to say, just eat the broccoli, just eat. 

[00:13:18] Kathy Davis: Apples, just eat the beans, just eat the brown rice. Like let's not try and buy all these fancy put together things. So then I have to educate how to make simple meals. Because it can sound very overwhelming. Right? If you're listening to this now, your leg, I can't do that. It's too overwhelming. Well, I'm eight years then. 

[00:13:34] Kathy Davis: That's a very different place than somebody who's considering it right now. Sure,  

[00:13:38] Kathy Davis: sure. Like I'm, I'm transitioning from chaos to, I don't know what I'm really not sure. I don't know. I don't think I could go. I certainly couldn't go vegan. That's just not for me. I can't do any soy. My body just hates it. 

[00:13:55] Kathy Davis: So. Due to replace that. And I can't eat bananas and I have certain restrictions that, um, that I think would prohibit me and I would miss fish. I would miss, I could probably give a beef, but I would miss chicken. I would miss fish. I don't know, but adding more plant-based things in my life and getting rid of processed foods and all that stuff. 

[00:14:18] Kathy Davis: It's certainly a step in the right direction.  

[00:14:21] Kathy Davis: Abs. Absolutely. And it's interesting Marcy, because I said all the same things that you're saying to eight years ago, it took me at least six months to really accept it as a, as a way of living. And one of the things that I've also found is that a lot of the soy in. 

[00:14:37] Kathy Davis: A vegan diet is in the process foods. Cause you can replace tofu and Tempe and soybeans and soy sauce with so many other options. Right. But where soy really comes in is in all of the like processed vegan foods because that's, that's how they add protein or they use soy isolates and it's just, it's become very common for. 

[00:15:01] Kathy Davis: People to avoid processed vegan foods because of all the things in them, gluten sure. You know, weird chemicals, soy other things like that, and eat more of a whole plant whole food plant-based diet or plant-based plant centered because of the processed foods, just being so full of things they don't want to eat. 

[00:15:22] Marci Brockmann: And I, and I, I think, I remember hearing somewhere that soy wasn't so good for women of a certain age anyway, because it has so much estrogen in it. Plant-based estrogens. I dunno if that's true. That's an English teacher talking, I don't know. I'm not a chemist or a nutritionist or a dietician.  

[00:15:37] Kathy Davis: Right? The research I showed that the phyto estrogens and soy are different than the estrogen. 

[00:15:43] Kathy Davis: You know that actually the phyto estrogens are better for women, especially in those cancer eight, you know, the prime cancer ages because of the benefits funk. Well, but that's a common misconception, but you know, Dr. Kristi funk who's um, the she's the, I can't think of the word. That she's the doctor that did the mastectomy for Angelina Jolie's. 

[00:16:07] Kathy Davis: So she's a very highly affluent, highly respected doctor. She actually wrote a whole book called breasts, the owner's manual. Okay. So for any, any yes, or, or a, is it OB OB GYN? Is that, I don't know what the. Anyway, anyway, she's a physician and she wrote a whole book on that. And her research is also supported by other doctors as well in the plant-based space that the estrogen is different. 

[00:16:33] Kathy Davis: And it actually doesn't do the things that we think it does, but it gets a bad rap. And so a lot of people have. But it's a really, that's a really great book. She actually recommends soy daily, which was a shock for me because not that's, she's one of the only doctors that recommend soy that frequently, most of the plant-based doctors do recommend less of it because it is more processed. 

[00:16:54] Kathy Davis: Um, and so it tends to be a little bit higher in fat. So if it's, uh, you know, if you're going for a weight loss should be less, obviously less fat is better for weight loss.  

[00:17:04] Marci Brockmann: Interesting. Interesting, but I, you know, I think it depends on the individual bodies and as well, you know, not that I'm discounting what the doctor said, but interesting. 

[00:17:16] Marci Brockmann: So if a client comes to you and has no idea where to begin, what advice do you.  

[00:17:25] Kathy Davis: Um, my first tip is to eat more plants. It sounds, it sounds as simple as it is. Like let's look at what you're already eating. And let's eat the foods that are plant-based that you already like, do you like potatoes? Let's eat more potatoes. 

[00:17:41] Kathy Davis: Do you like broccoli? Let's eat more broccoli. Let's start to crowd out the animal products, because just like you said, we fear we're going to miss the chicken. We fear we're going to miss the fish. We're going to miss the foods that we love. So let's not give them all, all at once. Let's learn to love new foods and that's something to replace it with. 

[00:18:03] Kathy Davis: Right. And, and that's from. Really my perspective of eat more plants, take baby steps. Give yourself grace, be intentional. You know, somebody could come to me and say, Nope, I want to go. I want to go vegan. I want to do it all right. Now, I don't want to take your baby step approach. I'm all in. Let's go. Let's run together. 

[00:18:24] Kathy Davis: But if you come to me and you're like, I want to dip my toe in it, where do I start? How do I make it easy? Start by adding foods that you already like, then let's take a meal. Maybe it's breakfast. Let's change out your breakfast for one to two. Same easy plant-based breakfast, maybe it's oats. Maybe it's an Oak Oak blueberry bowl. 

[00:18:44] Kathy Davis: Maybe it's apple cinnamon law. Maybe it's avocado toast. Maybe it's a smoothie. You know, look at the breakfast ideas that you already like. Let's fit them into your busy life. Right? If you're busy and you don't have you you're out the door at 6:00 AM to catch a train or something, might not have time to buzz up a smoothie. 

[00:19:01] Kathy Davis: You might need. You know, breakfast on the go, maybe overnight oats. I did  

[00:19:06] Marci Brockmann: that. I do overnight. It's like five, six days a week. Oats, Neal, and blueberries. Of course I put honey in it, but I ruined it there, but  

[00:19:15] Kathy Davis: dab of maple syrup. But again, honey, that'd be like the last thing I would worry about changing out for somebody. 

[00:19:21] Kathy Davis: Right, right. Like I'm looking at removing the highly inflammatory foods, the dairy. The processed foods. Yeah. Well, I classify bacon under the processed foods, but yes, bacon oil is extremely inflammatory and has extreme negative benefits for heart and blood vessels. And all of that, I mean, it is, I mean, the Dr. 

[00:19:42] Kathy Davis: Esselstyn diet that is no oil. He prescribes that to reverse reverse heart disease. So like, if I have a client, what kind of oil. They, yeah, the plant-based doctors say all oil and  

[00:19:55] Marci Brockmann: avocado oil. When I cook, that's  

[00:19:57] Kathy Davis: not good. Well, my, my theory. So the plant-based doctors would say no. And my theory on it is avocado oil might be healthier than canola oil, which is healthier than bacon fat. 

[00:20:08] Kathy Davis: But when you get to the end, the avocado itself would give you the fiber, the nutrients. So it's more of a whole food. So that's where we start. We start with getting rid of the process. But it's a learning curve to learn how to cook without oil, to learn how to bake without eggs. I mean, everything is a step-by-step, it is not an overnight situation. 

[00:20:27] Kathy Davis: And that's what people need to understand. It's not about trying to do it overnight. It's really about changing it out. One meal, one snack, one recipe at a time. And so  

[00:20:38] Marci Brockmann: that's what your Facebook community does. And that's what your coaching coaching business does. Is it group coaching or is it one-on-one? 

[00:20:46] Kathy Davis: It's a hybrid of that. So I have group coaching and then all the clients also receive a one-on-one college month to really narrow in, on their specific focus. Oh, that's  

[00:20:55] Marci Brockmann: cool. And then I, and then the cookbooks go along with that too, like probably inform them on how. What to actually eat and what to put in  

[00:21:07] Kathy Davis: things, easy recipes. 

[00:21:10] Kathy Davis: It's a great resource. I do a meal plan. Part of my group coaching is that we meal plan together. So my clients have access to my cookbooks. We're able to meal plan. We're able to look at our recipes together. That's all done as a group because what you make for dinner might sound good to me. Right? So we get to someone else. 

[00:21:26] Kathy Davis: Right. Plan is a community. Yep. Interesting.  

[00:21:30] Marci Brockmann: Very interesting. And. I mean, sort of taking a little left turn here. Is it 

[00:21:45] Marci Brockmann: sorry, is it easier to store food in the RV as a vegan than it would be as a, a plant B a nonplussed plant-based eat or as an animal person, you know, whatever animal eater.  

[00:21:59] Kathy Davis: Wow.  
 

[00:22:02] Marci Brockmann: Because I answered that question. I ask that question gracefully. It  

[00:22:05] Kathy Davis: just, right. Well, one of the big things in the RV is that we have an RV refrigerator. 

[00:22:11] Kathy Davis: So I feel like it kind of chases the temperature. If I had dairy meat in there, if I had lunch meats or anything like that, I'd be a little bit more worried about. Oh, the temperature fluctuations, because if we're sitting in a spot on RV site where the sun beats on the refrigerator all afternoon, I can only do so much to control that temperature like that refrigerator has to work. 

[00:22:38] Kathy Davis: And then the next day, the night at nighttime, we might go down to 20 degrees. So if there's, it could be, I mean, Listen, we chase the climate. So we wear flip-flops all year round, but every now and then we find ourselves in a situation where it gets a little chilly. And so then the, then the top row of the refrigerator freezes. 

[00:22:56] Kathy Davis: So then. You know, herbs have a little crisp to them. Interesting. So I feel less concerned about the food in the refrigerator because it's not food that necessarily spoils. Um, at least not from that perspective. I mean, I don't think the temperature changes extremely drastically. It's not, I mean, it is an enclosed space and it does run all day long, you know, does it is connected to power to keep it cold all day. 

[00:23:21] Kathy Davis: But if, if there was animal products in there, I'd have to be much more conscious of the temperature and how it froze. Right? If you put throw chicken in the freezer, you want it to freeze solid,  

[00:23:32] Marci Brockmann: right. And not partially, uh, thought in between and  

[00:23:36] Kathy Davis: so on. Um, but our space is large. So we have oats and brown rice and canned vegetables and canned fruits and canned tomatoes. 

[00:23:46] Kathy Davis: And we have space for all of them. But we also bought the RV that had the grand kitchen model, so we could continue to do YouTube videos and cooking classes and all of that as well. That's  

[00:23:57] Marci Brockmann: so cool. So how did you and your husband decide to sell the house or get rid of the house and put it on wheels, so to speak, take your, take your life on the road. 

[00:24:09] Kathy Davis: Yeah, so this, it was like a, I don't know, kind of like a six to eight months. Exploration, I suppose, of what, what life really was about for us. We'd we'd lived in Charlotte. We'd lived in Pennsylvania. We got married in Pennsylvania. We both had great jobs. We were commuting every day to work. We would take weekends off and go visit our family in Western New York. 

[00:24:30] Kathy Davis: We would take weekends off and go on trips. But it was always PTO. There's always something in the way we have paid time off. We always take time off. Or, you know, I had, when I was teaching, I had to be on a school vacation. Like our, everything was dictated by somebody else. And I remember going on a trip, we actually went to Chicago before we were in the RV. 

[00:24:54] Kathy Davis: And I was like, gosh, what would it be like if we could travel all the time? And neither of us were really thinking what that, that was like the first little bit of seed. And then. We started looking at houses and we were going to buy property and we're going to build a house on this property and we're going to have this awesome outdoor space and this awesome kitchen. 

[00:25:10] Kathy Davis: And somehow we ended up on an RV page. I don't know. And I was like, look at that kitchen. That's amazing. Like, what if that's our answer to travel? And, you know, we were 30 something at the time. No kids just cats. Good jobs. Two cars. Yeah. It was kind of like a fleeting moment. Like how could that be possible for people like us? 

[00:25:34] Kathy Davis: Like we work, like, how are we going to do that? And I remember sitting down my husband and I was like, what if we could make that work? And he's like, do you think your job will let you work remotely? My job will let me work remotely. And I was like, I don't know. My boss is pretty traditional. I doubt he'll let me work remotely. 

[00:25:47] Kathy Davis: Like he likes to be, he'll walk in my office and ask me something at the last minute. And I was doing the books like you can't do financial. Print checks remotely. So, you know, you really have to think about the logistics. And so again, fleeting in and out, and then we just kept watching other people that were doing it, some YouTubers that were doing RV living. 

[00:26:06] Kathy Davis: And I was like, you know, maybe we should consider it. And I remember sitting in the living room. End of January, 2018. Like we're all, it's all pre COVID. Like nothing's every, the world is normal as it was. And I remember thinking like, what if we did that? What if we really did the RV thing? What if we figured out the jobs? 

[00:26:26] Kathy Davis: What if I worked veggie inspired full time? What if I wrote cookbooks? What if, what if, what if, what if, and I remember those being like, well, our car leases are up in September, 2020. What if we just wait? And then we had some close friends. We had somebody lose, you know, lose their life and some family members pass away and it was like sign after sign. 

[00:26:48] Kathy Davis: That life is short and non-renewable resources. Right. And the, the more that happened, the more we were like, let's look at, let's go look at RVs. Let's go sit in them. Let's go look at trucks. Let's, let's really start to paint this picture. And the more painting we did, the more it got in our heart. And we, it was pretty fast. 

[00:27:11] Kathy Davis: We told our family and man. That we remove it, that we were going to sell our house and move into an RV. We met with our real estate agent in June. We listed the house. We met with our real estate agent in lie. We listed the house in August of 2018. We had a huge garage sale in September of 2018. The Friday of our huge garage sale. 

[00:27:33] Kathy Davis: We got an offer on our house with 30 days to move out. Yeah, it was fast and we'd already bought the RV, but the RV dealer was storing it because we couldn't store it in our neighborhood because there wasn't enough room in our driveway. And that was against the HOA. They were storing it until November 1st. 

[00:27:50] Kathy Davis: So my whole focus all summer long was November 1st. Like we'd never taken the RV out. We'd never, we'd sat in it for a few hours. A couple of days when we were measuring. And like once we bought it, we were like, we got to get it. And we got into. How much space we have to pack our house into it. So we would go and we would sit in it and play around and, you know, pretend we were working and just living the life in somebody's parking lot. 

[00:28:15] Kathy Davis: So, uh, you know, October now we're moving out into this RV. Well, little did I know. Everybody goes to Florida for the winter and their RV. And so I start calling campgrounds and they're like, honey, we they've split them booked for a year. And I'm like, I didn't think about that. So it all worked out, you know, I believe in the, I believe in just believing it'll all work out and just going with the flow and October 13th, 2018, we moved into the RV and October 28th, we hit the road for Florida for our first winter in the, as snowbirds. 

[00:28:51] Kathy Davis: Wow. So we've been on the road for three years. We've been to 26 states, 19 national parks. Uh, we've been all the way from key west to Mont glacier, Mount glacier, national park in Montana and all the way down to big bend national park, looking over the Rio Grande to Mexico over the last three years. Wow. 

[00:29:16] Marci Brockmann: It's amazing. Cool. Who does most of the.  

[00:29:20] Kathy Davis: My husband does all the driving. We have a driving pickup truck and a fifth wheel. And so we only travel about three to four hours at a time. And we tend to stay in places for two to four weeks, depending on the location and the time of year. So it's it's  

[00:29:36] Marci Brockmann: so it's an RV that's pulled by. 

[00:29:38] Marci Brockmann: Yes. Interesting. Interesting. I, you know, I'd never in my whole life heard of this ever before until a prior guest on permission to heal from season one, named Jennifer Turnham who lives in Australia, she and her husband were doing the same thing. They still kept an apartment. I think she's from Sydney. 

[00:30:01] Marci Brockmann: They, they kept an apartment and. He would like, he, he couldn't be a hundred percent remote, so like a week, a month or something, he had to actually be in the office. So he would live in the apartment by himself for a week and she stayed. I may be totally getting this wrong. So Jennifer, if you're listening to this and I'm ruining your story, I'm sorry. 

[00:30:20] Marci Brockmann: Um, but then, then she would stay in the RV and, and he would come back and meet her and then they'd go somewhere else, you know? But she worked a hundred percent out of the RV. They lived in the RV, they call them caravans there, but.  

[00:30:34] Kathy Davis: Well, the funny thing that I usually get people say is, wait, so you're together all 24 7 in a 310 square foot house. 

[00:30:43] Kathy Davis: I'm like, oh yes. Oh, we are. So it really helps you build your relationship and learn how to communicate because you don't have. You can't go upstairs. You can't go nowhere. There's no man cave like this. We're all in the same room. I mean, we have a bedroom in a bathroom, the doors, but for the most part, the living spaces, the kitchen, the office, the desk, the dining room. 

[00:31:05] Kathy Davis: It's all one big area. Great room. Yeah, that's fine. Yeah.  

[00:31:11] Marci Brockmann: I mean, it probably forces you to work on. Not letting things fester, you know, you, you have to just say how you feel and put it all out there and trust that it's going to be received in the matter that it was intended. And if not, we're willing to work on it right now because there's no freaking place to go  

[00:31:33] Kathy Davis: well. 
 

[00:31:34] Kathy Davis: And so. Your podcast is permission to heal. And I think one of the things that our V life has given me is the ability to wake up with gratitude and happiness every day. Because when I was going to my job, even though I liked it, It's a very trapped feeling and taking the risk to do something like this has brought so much joy to our lives. 

[00:32:05] Kathy Davis: There isn't that day-to-day stress necessarily that tends to cause people in close proximity to, to argue or to react. There just isn't there just isn't the negative outside influences that caused us to go home and then react to our spouse or our children or our partners, or a very one or  

[00:32:25] Marci Brockmann: five. That's a very good point. 

[00:32:27] Marci Brockmann: I think the only thing that gets my husband's knickers in a twist is his job and his commute. And if he could get rid of the, even if he had to keep the job that he doesn't like, if he could get rid of that commute, he'd be a totally different.  

[00:32:41] Kathy Davis: And, and, and that is, I think that's a huge piece of why it makes our relationship so much easier or stronger is that it's just us there. 

[00:32:53] Kathy Davis: Aren't outside influences that affect us. And we know we talk a lot about like, we're in this together. Like if we get a blowout, which we haven't had, knock on wood, you know, Oh, we're, we're in, we're in it together. If we go wrong way or have a wrong turn, like it's frustrating in the moment, but we have to solve it together. 

[00:33:14] Kathy Davis: We don't have a choice. Right, right. So it's just, it's just a new perspective. And it's really given us that ability to, to come together in a different way than, you know, we even knew was possible three years.  

[00:33:27] Marci Brockmann: And you get to see so many amazing things. What'd you say, 26 states and three years. And I mean, that's, that's amazing, you know, and you're probably meeting so many different people and experiencing life in a totally different way that you would have never had the opportunity to do. 

[00:33:44] Kathy Davis: Yes. And another really big benefit too, is like we never lived near our families. Right. We went away, I went away to college. I met him in college. We moved to Charlotte. We were away from our families in Western New York. Our VI life allows us to go and park near them for an extended period of time and become part of their life. 

[00:34:05] Kathy Davis: So it's not that pop in for the weekend. And our nephews have to warm up to us for four days, two days. And then by the time we're ready to leave. That's when we. The one hug that we might get, it allows us to be part of their lives. And you can  

[00:34:20] Marci Brockmann: still keep that your life and your consistency about your own existence at the same time that you're blending with them. 

[00:34:26] Marci Brockmann: Cause you're, you're just parked  

[00:34:27] Kathy Davis: nearby and were there for much longer of a period than just the weekend, because that's all our Pittsburgh life ever was just to drive up for the weekend and drive back. It was never, you know, you never got to really immerse yourself in. Weekly events. Like I don't even know dinners Sunday, dinner or Thursday. 

[00:34:49] Kathy Davis: I don't know. Euchre tournament or something. Right.  

[00:34:52] Marci Brockmann: That's cool. I think that's very cool. I, I know my husband used to say that, uh, that was his retirement fantasy to buy an RV and. Pear the belongings down and drive away into the sunset. I don't know if he still thinks that, but we haven't talked about it in a bar in a  

[00:35:15] Kathy Davis: while, but we made a lot of people who are doing that. 

[00:35:19] Kathy Davis: A lot of people that just travel for six months out of the year, come home and be with their families during the holidays or during the season that, you know, that's best in their area. And we meet a lot of, a lot of people that travel as retirees.  

[00:35:35] Marci Brockmann: Well, that's still quite a way off because of the way the world is, but, uh, interesting, interesting. 

[00:35:41] Marci Brockmann: And so, and your business, I mean, vege inspired could, couldn't be more flexible for this, you know, being able to virtually connect with your groups and your one-on-one coaching people, and you do all of your cookbook experimenting recipe, inventing in the kitchen, in the yard.  

[00:35:59] Kathy Davis: I do. Yes. All three cookbooks were written in the RV. 

[00:36:02] Kathy Davis: And, you know, I think the biggest challenge about my, my business is making sure that we have good internet connection so that these calls go smoothly instead of all wiggly. Right. And everybody knows what zoom, you know, the, the lack of internet with zoom after the last year and a half of being in the situation that we're in from a, from a worldly perspective. 

[00:36:22] Kathy Davis: So, you know, That's the biggest challenge is just making sure that I have a good internet connection so that I can connect. What do you do about  

[00:36:31] Marci Brockmann: mail? Do you get mail? No,  

[00:36:34] Kathy Davis: we, we do get mail. We actually have a mail service, um, and we ship everything to the mail service. We ship mail. To the mail service, like bills and weird, random things that won't go to electronic billing every now and then there's a weird one. 

[00:36:50] Kathy Davis: Right. But packages, we typically ship to the RV parks or like in this case, I'm staying near my parents. So when we got here on Sunday, I had 12 packages to open because I've been sending all of the, all of my things to my parents' house and. Stacking them in a corner. It was like Christmas when I got there on Sunday with all the goodies that I've lived in the last two weeks. 

[00:37:11] Kathy Davis: So,  
 

[00:37:13] Marci Brockmann: well, that's interesting. Yeah. Thinking about how much of my life I would have to change in order to do. I don't know, I'm such a creature of habit. Like a couple of weeks ago, I was like on my way to school and I was driving the same exact place where I go and the same exact roads, the same exact time. 

[00:37:31] Marci Brockmann: And I parked in the same exact spot in the same exact parking lot and walked up the same exact stairs, 27 years, the same exact thing. And. And I was just in that moment feeling like I just need to break out this too much. The same I'm drowning in this. It's crazy. And then like the next day I was like, but it's so comforting. 

[00:37:53] Marci Brockmann: It's secure. I don't have to worry about where the next paycheck's coming. I don't have to feel like a fish out of water. I know everyone knows me. I know everyone, you know, I've got my classroom that I've been in for so many years. You know, there's something about the continuity. That's so comforting at the same time that sometimes it feels suffocating. 

[00:38:14] Kathy Davis: I dunno. Yeah. I mean, I'm a total creature of habit. That was me. I parked in the same parking lot at work. I would drive me crazy if somebody got there before me, like. And my biggest advice to people, and this would be for anything plant-based business, you know, lifestyle, any lifestyle changes, you have to go into it, knowing that it's going to be uncomfortable in the beginning, but man, is it worth it? 

[00:38:36] Kathy Davis: I mean, I would say that every risk I've ever taken it's been worth it, but this risk, especially, you know, there's still challenges, right? I mean, as a creature of habit, we like our grocery store. Right. We don't have a grocery store anymore. Our grocery store changes every time we moved the RV, you know, you, you love, you buy a house. 

[00:38:55] Kathy Davis: Oftentimes you, you love your garden. You love the things about it. You do things to it that make it, especially outside looking out the windows different, you know? Sure. Our townhouse in Pennsylvania had a gorgeous back view out the back on the back deck. Like it was beautiful. We'd get a sunrise sunset every night. 

[00:39:13] Kathy Davis: Like it was gorgeous today.  

[00:39:15] Marci Brockmann: Different sunsets.  

[00:39:17] Kathy Davis: Exactly. So when you start to look at the, you know, today's my son, my son sets over here behind somebody else's RV. But when, what I'm looking at this way, our Palm fronds yesterday, I looked out the window and there was an iguana looking at me from the tree. 

[00:39:31] Kathy Davis: You probably couldn't see me. He just thought his own reflection, but I could see him. And it's just, every, every view is different. And some are awesome. And some you're like, wow, I'm really close to my neighbor. You just take it in  

[00:39:47] Marci Brockmann: like anything else, you know, that's a good with the not so good. Very cool. 

[00:39:52] Marci Brockmann: And, and you're right. Every risk comes with potential things you don't like, but there's also comes with on potential for unlimited growth and beauty and fabulousness. And the only way to figure that out is to. Yep. And, you know, I say all the time, the only way to fail is to not try.  

[00:40:14] Kathy Davis: Right. And that's in, that's like, we're talking about RV living, but that's still, it's good with true. 

[00:40:20] Kathy Davis: That's true with food too, right? Like there's the only way to know if you're going to thrive or enjoy or feel energized, eating more plants is to try and eat more plants.  

[00:40:32] Marci Brockmann: Yeah. Yeah. Makes sense. Okay. Okay, so let's get to the seven quick questions. What six words would you use to describe  

[00:40:42] Kathy Davis: yourself? 

[00:40:44] Kathy Davis: Energized fun. I have to actually count on my hands. Ambitious, honest, compassionate, friendly.  

[00:40:56] Marci Brockmann: Sounds good to me. What's your favorite way to spend a day?  

[00:41:00] Kathy Davis: Oh, snuggling with a cat in a, in a book. Or coaching my clients because today was a coaching day and it fills me with so much joy to hear, to talk to them. 

[00:41:09] Kathy Davis: So I'm, well, it depends on your day.  

[00:41:13] Marci Brockmann: Yep. Nice, nice. I, my, all my cats are young and they don't really like to snuggle so much yet, you know, soon, soon I hope they're starting to like, let me hug them more. And I just can't wait until like, someone will come and cuddle, cuddle they'll sleep on my legs, you know, things like that, but I want more kitty cat hugging. 

[00:41:37] Marci Brockmann: Um, what is your favorite childhood memory?  

[00:41:41] Kathy Davis: Oh, so my favorite childhood memories are Christmas day. My parents always hosted Christmas and it was like a day of my family came and got together and, you know, my cousins would get there early and we would hang out and open presents. And my. Girl cousin, who's just a year older than me. 

[00:42:01] Kathy Davis: We would always get a, some type of similar outfit. And so we would dress in that and play with our games. And I just, I remember Christmases being so full family focused and I, I love that. And those are my favorite memories, you know, when all the family was still around and alive and just really spending time together. 

[00:42:22] Kathy Davis: That's  
 

[00:42:23] Marci Brockmann: wonderful. That's wonderful. What is your favorite? Ms. Tasha inspired tacos.  

[00:42:31] Kathy Davis: You said that wholly all day, every, every way. Potato tacos, bean tacos, veggie tacos, tofu tacos. I I'm here for tacos. Tacos.  

[00:42:42] Marci Brockmann: What do you use instead of.  

[00:42:44] Kathy Davis: Uh, usually avocado or a cashew drizzle. I used to use vegan cheese, but now I just opt out or there's some like nut-based cheeses, like a cashew cheese or cashew cream, something of that nature just to give it that creamy luxury. 

[00:42:58] Kathy Davis: But I really like avocado for that or.  

[00:43:03] Marci Brockmann: I love Africa. I found a really good recipe for chocolate brownies using avocado is the base.  

[00:43:09] Kathy Davis: Ooh. So  

[00:43:11] Marci Brockmann: good. So good. And I, you know what, I'm mixing it together. And my husband's like, what in the freaking hell are you doing? That's disgusting. I'm like, just wait. You won't taste the avocado. 

[00:43:25] Marci Brockmann: Cause he doesn't like avocado. You won't taste the avocado. It's not going to be green. I swear. And he reluctantly said it was. Okay.  

[00:43:35] Kathy Davis: That's funny.  

[00:43:38] Marci Brockmann: Um, what, one piece of advice would you like to give your younger self,  

[00:43:43] Kathy Davis: eat more plants and take more risks. So two pieces that works,  

[00:43:51] Marci Brockmann: it works. Don't eat risky plants. 

[00:43:55] Kathy Davis: Yeah. Yeah. Don't eat risky plants. Just eat the ones that you find at the store. Right?  

[00:43:59] Marci Brockmann: Exactly. Now is there truth before I get to the next question, is there a truth that we should be shopping and eating out of the perimeter of the grocery store and not what's in the middle and well, except for the freezer. 

[00:44:13] Marci Brockmann: Maybe a  
 

[00:44:14] Kathy Davis: little, but like, I don't do the dairy and the meat and the cheese and the fish, and those are all in the perimeter. So I opt for actually the  

[00:44:25] Marci Brockmann: produce side is usually on a perimeter side. Isn't  

[00:44:28] Kathy Davis: it? Right. Produce beans and grains freezer section was pretty much what I'd shop. I mean, yeah. Cause I don't buy processed foods, so I'm more of the don't buy. 

[00:44:40] Kathy Davis: Don't buy foods that have ingredients, just buy the ingredients. I liked that. I like that.  

[00:44:48] Marci Brockmann: Okay. I think that's cool. Um, number six, what is one thing that you would most like to change about the world?  

[00:44:57] Kathy Davis: Gosh, it's a small question. I know I would like the world. Hmm.  

[00:45:10] Marci Brockmann: I always think of that Coke, commercial from the seventies, I'd like to teach the world to sing, or I'd like to buy the world of Coke, you know, always runs through my head when I asked this question, you  

[00:45:20] Kathy Davis: know, I think being a us traveler like traveling full time has made me really appreciate the connection. 

[00:45:27] Kathy Davis: I have to new parts of the, of the country. 

[00:45:33] Kathy Davis: International travel to be more accessible. And I don't, I don't know exactly what that means. I, you know, I taught in inner city, Charlotte, rural low-income schools and then a private school. And so I've seen like different people having different options. And I really wish travel in itself was more accessible to people. 

[00:45:58] Marci Brockmann: Because I've learned so much more about what life was like in other cultures and for other people and get out of their own little mirrored back to them community.  

[00:46:08] Kathy Davis: Yeah. I mean, even just traveling across the country or going to a new part of the United States has given me such a different appreciation for. 

[00:46:17] Kathy Davis: You know, just the whole, the whole world and community and in society and civilization. I mean, it's just a, just a different perspective.  

[00:46:27] Marci Brockmann: Yeah. Invaluable. The lessons that you learned from travel and the last question, what TV shows are you binging? Right now? I go from worldly to TV shows, but yeah.  

[00:46:38] Kathy Davis: Well, so I only watch one TV show on TV and that, well, I guess it's multiple TV shows, but it falls under one category. 

[00:46:47] Kathy Davis: And that is the bachelor bachelorette franchise. Yep. I watched it with my best friend. We set a date to watch it together and we text message through the whole show. And then I'm a sucker for hallmark movies. So I watch those, but other than ti I don't watch TV shows other than the bachelor and bachelorette franchise. 

[00:47:07] Kathy Davis: Yeah.  
 

[00:47:08] Marci Brockmann: Okay. I think I've only seen one episode once.  

[00:47:12] Kathy Davis: Interesting. It's like a funny, funny quirk, I guess. No,  

[00:47:17] Marci Brockmann: that's good. That's why they have different TV shows because people have different tastes and stuff. Yeah. We get into ruts. Watch stuff. Uh, the latest thing that we've watched and I've now watched it three times, because I'm crazy is the TV show, Ted lasso on the apple plus network or TV or whatever. 

[00:47:35] Marci Brockmann: And I'm not a sports fan. I am like the least athletic person. I am. They used to fight over who got stuck with me on teams in school. Just terrible. And so this is about a Kansas football coach, American football coach being recruited to coach soccer or UFC, you know, football in London, like an actual, like professional football team. 

[00:48:00] Marci Brockmann: We'd call it soccer. But, um, and, and he's trying to learn the rules and it's like his it's just. It's it's wonderful. And, and yes, it has something to do something to do with soccer, but soccer at that point is just the metaphor for life and the philosophy. And it's so uplifting and funny and moving and beautiful and sad. 

[00:48:19] Marci Brockmann: And I just, I love it.  

[00:48:21] Kathy Davis: I've got to have to check that out. That sounds interesting. Maybe you'll add a new TV show to my, I used to. Uh, crime drama, binged. Like I would just watch every crime drama. I have nightmares. And now that's how I feel. I don't know if that's because the walls are so small and an RV feel more vulnerable. 

[00:48:39] Marci Brockmann: Well, the scary enough, I don't need to go watch those drama things. Yep. So I  

[00:48:43] Kathy Davis: said stick with my sappy drum set, happy hallmark movies,  

[00:48:47] Marci Brockmann: and can't go wrong. Loved that this has been wonderful chatting with you, Kathy. I'm so glad that you came on permission to heal and told us all about veggie inspired foods and your business, and, um, all the links for people who are listening or watching on YouTube or down in the show notes, links to her socials in her business and books and all of that stuff. 

[00:49:10] Marci Brockmann: It's all there. So  

[00:49:12] Kathy Davis: we thank you,  

[00:49:13] Marci Brockmann: Marcy. If you're not driving, scroll, if you are wait, thank you so much. This was one.  

[00:49:19] Kathy Davis: Thank you, Marcy. I had so much  

[00:49:20] Marci Brockmann: fun. I'm so glad