Never heard of a chicken or lobster mushroom? Then you haven't talked to Julie Piatt. As the co-author of the new book The Plantpower Way: Italia: Delicious Vegan Recipes for the Italian Countryside, Julie can tell you all about them and will reassure you that they're vegan. This isn't the first book she's written with her husband, Rich Roll—the duo published their first vegan lifestyle book, The Plantpower Way, together back in 2015, and it became an instant hit.

Between their success in the publishing world and Rich's own inspiring story of transforming himself from couch potato to endurance athlete (all of which is detailed in Rich's first book, Finding Ultra), it's safe to say that Rich and Julie—who are dear friends of ours, members of the mbg Collective, and mbg class instructors—are a wellness power couple. In this podcast episode, which is the very first one Colleen and I have ever hosted with another couple, you'll learn all about how Rich and Julie keep the spark alive in their relationship while working together, how they've navigated financial hardships, the secret ingredients to make your Italian cuisine vegan, and what work-life balance really means to them.

To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com.

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