RPL at Home: July 2025

Welcome to the July 2025 edition of RPL at Home, where I share what I’m up to when I’m not in the kitchen or in front of the camera. 

Each month (or so), I give you a glimpse into what I’m working on, habits I’m cultivating, things bringing me joy, books/TV shows/podcasts I’m enjoying, and more. Think of it as stream-of-consciousness blabbering meets a semi-curated list of recommendations meets life update.

👩🏽‍🍳 Exciting update! 

In case you missed the email announcement, latest YouTube video, and Instagram post, I wanted to share some exciting news here! 

I’m officially a contributor to New York Times Cooking!  

Several months ago, I received a message from NYT Cooking that said something like, “We love your recipes and content! Would you like to collaborate?” 

I assumed it was a phishing attempt because why would the New York Times be interested in little ol’ me? 

Turns out it was not a phishing attempt! They really liked my recipes and cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor, and wanted to showcase my recipes and videos 🥹

We met in person during one of my trips to NYC and after a few months of hashing out details, we’re finally here! Several of my recipes will appear on NYT Cooking’s website and app, many of which will also live on my YouTube channel (and a few on the NYT Cooking YouTube channel!). 

When I wrote Big Vegan Flavor, my biggest goal was to empower home cooks to cook downright delicious food without animal products. But I also had a secondary goal, and that was to elevate vegan food in the culinary world at large, to show folks that you don’t need meat or dairy to make food taste incredible. 

So being invited to contribute recipes and videos to such a celebrated culinary outlet has been a surreal moment for me. Thank you all for watching my videos and making my recipes–your support is the reason I’ve been given amazing opportunities like this! 

You can get my first three recipes on NYT Cooking’s website or app for free! 

1) Whipped Tofu Ricotta
2) Heirloom Tomato Salad With Ricotta and Chile Oil
3) Jammy Zucchini 

😎 What I’m working on in life 

My relationship to work has been evolving over the last few years, which I’ve written about several times. For those of you who aren’t familiar, let’s just say I worked myself to the bone for a few years, and the stress manifested itself through many physical health problems. 

I’ve come a long way since those 90 hour workweeks, and right now, I can honestly say I’m in a pretty good groove: (1) I’m working on mostly things I love, and (2) I’m still working hard but way smarter than before (and way fewer hours). 

One of the things that has really redefined my relationship to work is taking conscious breaks during the workday. 

In the past, when I was tired of working or just felt like procrastinating, I might have grabbed my phone as a break…but that never really felt like a true break. If you’ve ever scrolled social media with no purpose, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The experience doesn’t feel relaxing or restorative; in fact, it often feels stressful or anxiety-inducing. 

Now that I have kicked my social media addiction, the breaks I take during my workday are much more intentional. And truly restorative.

Here are some of my favorite breaks in case you need some inspo for our own work-life balance: 

1) Go for a walk outside. I’m lucky to live in a lovely, walkable neighborhood in sunny, temperate San Diego so this is a no-brainer for me.

2) Sit on my porch and read a novel for 15 minutes (or some days, 45 minutes).

3) Drink a fizzy beverage and play a crossword puzzle.

4) Color in my adult coloring books (deemed “adult” because the designs are complex, not because the pages are filled with nudes).

I can’t explain how luxurious it feels to sit outside during the middle of the day and read a novel. And 95% of the time, I return to my desk feeling better, more energetic, and ready to work. The other 5% of the time, I just want to continue reading, which is also okay. 

Taking breaks during the workday might not sound revolutionary to some folks, especially for readers outside of the U.S. where hustle culture is not as pervasive. But as someone who has struggled with workaholic tendencies and who operates in a nonstop industry that rewards constant work, this feels like my own little private revolution. 

What I’m watching, listening to, and reading

📺 Watching

We recently watched the 2021 movie Pig starring Nicolas Cage, which I would highly recommend. 

Vegans, beware, you will be sad (a beloved pig is kidnapped, after all), but it’s a beautifully told and filmed story about a man’s relationship with his truffle-hunting pig. There’s loss and melancholy, but there’s also pure, unadulterated love.  

In terms of TV, we recently finished season 4 of The Bear (animal titles are the theme this month!).  

The pros: I love the cast: their complex lives, their storylines, their relationships to the other characters. And the cinematography is exquisite.  

The cons: This season moved too slowly for my taste. And Carmy seemed incapable of verbalizing any real words besides “No, I know” and “I’m trying,” which got annoying (albeit hilarious at the same time).

Criticisms aside, I’ll obviously be watching season 5 whenever it drops!  

📚Reading   

The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen. 

A few months ago, I read (and loved) The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2016. The Committed picks up where The Sympathizer left off, following the life of the narrator as a Vietnamese refugee in France where he continues to reckon with his identity as a spy, as well as questions of identity, colonialism and empire, capitalism vs. communism, immigration and assimilation.  

Recommendation: Start with The Sympathizer. If you love it (chances are high), try The Committed next. It’s a denser read, but read together as a whole, this is contemporary literary fiction at some of its finest. 

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz.

After reading (and, again, loving) The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, I started reading Díaz’s collection of short stories, which features the same narrator, Yunior. Yunior writes about the Dominican-American immigrant experience, masculinity, and love with such incredible uniqueness. He’s witty yet deep, funny yet profound, seriously flawed yet seriously lovable. 

Recommendation: Reading The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is not a pre-requisite, but it will give you more context and appreciation for the narrator. 

Remainders of the Day by Shaun Bythell 

Written by the owner of the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland, this is basically a daily diary of all the customers who come into the author’s store, what they buy, and importantly, their quirks and eccentricities. The author is sarcastic and his humor reminds me a bit of Ricky Gervais’ but in a PG way.  

Recommendation: If you need a light and funny read that you can pick up for 10 minutes a day, this is a fun one. 

Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius.

A coming-of-age novel that takes place in the Arctic Circle (Northern Sweden to be exact), it tells the story of an indigenous Sámi girl who struggles to defend her family and culture’s way of life—herding reindeer—against a backdrop of xenophobia and discrimination, violence, and climate change. 

Recommendation: This features the torture and killing of reindeers (based on real life events), as well as suicide, so it’s not for everyone. But if you want to learn about an indigenous culture you’ve likely never heard of while simultaneously reading a heart-wrenching yet inspiring coming-of-age story, this is an eye-opening read.

🎧 Listening

I recently listened to an episode of the What Now? with Trevor Noah podcast, where he interviewed Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation. 

It’s a frank conversation about how smartphones and social media have rewired childhood and created a mental health epidemic for Gen Z in particular, but really for all of us.

The conversation is not without hope, though. Haidt offers several solutions for empowering kids to step out of the smartphone trap, from changes in school and government policy to more individual changes, like allowing your kids to explore the outdoors on their own. 

Even as a non-parent, I thought it was a really important and fascinating episode.

🎤 Fun Things

Back in June, we traveled to Boise, Idaho to attend the Craft and Commerce conference. It’s the annual conference hosted by Kit, the email marketing platform we use to send our emails (the ones you likely are subscribed to!). 

Earlier this year, Kit asked me if I wanted to give a keynote speech at the conference–and they said I could speak about whatever topic I wanted! 

Inspired by my own journey of carving out a sustainable relationship with work, as well as conversations I’ve had with fellow creators who are either working so hard they’re burning out or are so caught up in metrics that they’ve lost the joy of creating, I decided to give a speech on “the creator’s guide to sustainable productivity.” 

Though I’m one of those rare people who isn’t terrified of public speaking, I was still a bit nervous in the days leading up to the speech, considering it was my first time giving such a long speech (20 minutes) to such a large crowd of people (400 other creators). 

Luckily, as soon as I got on stage, whatever nerves I had disappeared, and it felt like I was talking to a group of friends (or a live YouTube audience). Despite a couple minor technical difficulties, it went really well and I can totally see myself doing more speeches in the future!

Okay, that’s it for this month! Drop me a line below and let me know what you’re reading, watching, or working on in your own life!