Finding Love and Peace In The Kitchen

I LOVE (cook)books that take you on adventures …

Welcome to Roots! A newsletter about plant-based eating, nutrition, lifestyle, I cover it all. Join me, Lori Osterberg, as I explore good food, great health, and Gorgeous Wellth! New here? Get started.

I’ve invested in a new planner this year …

I’m a long-time fan of Danielle LaPorte. I have several of her books, have taken some of her courses, and check in with her podcast from time to time.

I’m also a believer in planners and journals. The proof is sitting in my closets, on my shelves, near my desk … Yep, I’ve invested in A LOT of planners over the years.

Have you worked with planners? You might be like me: Some I use throughout the year; some fall quickly to the wayside. I believe a good planner is one that captures your attention and guides you through your days. They become a gorgeous part of your life.

That’s why Danielle caught my ear last fall when she announced her Heart Centered Planner was making a comeback in 2025 better than ever, with guiding messages in her backend portal to accompany the planner throughout the year.

I jumped and bought mine; had it in my hands before the New Year.

If you’ve ever listened to Danielle before, you know her approach is different. You won’t be listing your daily to-do lists. Instead, you’ll fill your planner with ways to become more soul-focused, to have more nourishing thoughts, and take key actions for the week based on how you choose to feel, not what your to-do list tells you to do.

And I love it.

Here in February, it’s helped me ask different questions. It took me a bit to get into the flow - I’m a check-off-your-to-do list kind of gal - but this planner has helped me get more focused on creating a calm life.

If you’re a planner person and haven’t used Danielle’s system before, I recommend checking out her ideas. What I love most is the approach. Shouldn’t we want wellness? Better health? Living a calmer life?

I spend five minutes a day thinking about my WINs (what’s most important.) They’ve led me in all sorts of new directions, and honestly, isn’t that what we need right now?

For me, heart-centered and plant-based living move hand in hand. I’ve been on this plant-based journey for three decades, knowing in my heart that food is the answer to better energy, better health, better wellth.

I started asking questions three decades ago when my father died at the age of 54 from a massive heart attack. That was hard - the suddenness of it all.

But in some ways, watching my mom have a stroke at 54, and navigate chronic health challenges for three decades was even harder.

Isn’t there a better way? Why don’t we pay more attention to the energy we bring into our bodies? Why is there so much destruction around our food systems?

Danielle includes small nuggets of wisdom and pieces of advice throughout her journals. Being a quote person, one recently stuck out to me:

“The secret to life is meaningless unless you discover it yourself.” Somerset Maugham

Every step of my plant-based journey has been unique. I’ve had to “see” one thing to move to the next.

Asking questions throughout that journey led me from plant-based eating to a plant-based lifestyle. It’s a part of every journey I take, all day, every day.

It’s also led me to find the joy in cookbooks, and use them in my kitchen to create gorgeous meals for my family.

It’s why I started my Cookbook Club two years ago, and why I’m excited to keep the journey going this year.

I believe cookbooks can also be guidebooks. I love finding self-help books that help you be better in the kitchen AND make improvements to your life.

I’ve found that some of my favorite cookbooks are more than cookbooks. They talk about lifestyles, not just the food you put on your plate.

Maybe that’s the secret. Developing a lifestyle means getting to your core and discovering your inner self. It’s about mind, body, and spirit, even though we sometimes seem to forget that. But when you put it all together, it’s magical. That’s when the very best energy starts flowing.

Because food isn’t just about better fuel or better eating. Food is energy. It’s what makes you healthy … or not.

The very best cookbooks know that. They share it all - food, kitchen tips, and lifestyle energy - all to help you build a better lifestyle worth living.

I talk about that in my video.

I LOVE my local library. My husband always teases that my most valuable card is my library card - my credit cards wouldn't survive my desire for knowledge. At any given time, I have over a dozen library books scattered around my house in various stages of reading.

When I find a GREAT book, those are the ones I buy. To keep on my nightstand for enjoyment. To keep in the kitchen to help me cook. To sit in my office to guide me. And to sit near me in my reading area when I want to be inspired.

I found this month’s book on my library shelves, but it’s a keeper. It will be a great one to move around to different spots in my home as I’m incorporating new habits into my daily routine.

Ayurveda is something I’m thoroughly diving into this month, and I welcome you to join me.

Living Ayurveda
By Claire Ragozzino

When you’re ready for the lesson, the teacher will come. I’ve found that adage to be true in so many areas of my life.

After gaining my nutrition coaching certificate last year, I spent some time in December focusing on what I wanted to learn in 2025. The term “Ayurveda” kept popping up. I jumped into my research phase, and this book appeared multiple times.

It’s not a cookbook, and yet it is.

Plant-based isn’t just about eating … It's a lifestyle. So too is ayurveda. It’s about exploring the concept of body-mind-soul as a whole, not just individual.

Whether you’re new to Ayurveda or use the practice regularly, I think you’ll enjoy how this book is written. It focuses on each season, providing ideas for healthy living and eating based on what the weather is like in your location.

In Living Ayurveda, Claire states, “If we slow down enough and learn how to listen, the answers to vibrant health and more empowered living can be found all around us.” I do believe the world as a whole has forgotten this. This is a time of reckoning, a time when people are deciding which direction to go and what our collective future will look like.

We need change. We all realize it. Health can’t continue to fail at such monumental levels as it’s been doing this past generation.

Maybe the answer is taking a step back and changing lifestyles, not just what to eat for dinner.

That’s just one of the reasons Ayurveda is on my list to pursue here in 2025. And just one of the reasons why I’m thoroughly enjoying Living Ayurveda. Her advice on meal planning is spot on:

“Ayurvedic wisdom promotes eating meals that are life-giving, fresh, and filled with prana. When you buy frozen premade meals to be reheated, you’re consuming something with very little life force left in it.”

Over the past few years, that’s become my guiding light for meal preparation. It’s what’s given me my love of creating gorgeous meals every day in my kitchen, and providing healthy, quality food for everyone I love.

In the month of LOVE, I hope you check out this cookbook, and find a way to bring new ideas into your own kitchen. And into the way you live each day.

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