Hey, everybody, can you guess where we are?

Vegas, baby.

That's right.

Right here on the Vegas strip in front of, I don't know, a whole universe of casinos, dancing girls bars and plenty of gambling.

So why do people come here?

Do you think?

Why do they come?

Why are we here?

That's a real question.

Well, it's true.

Why are we here?

Well, people come for a lot of things, but we're here to see if it's possible to have a mindful journey, a mindful experience in a place like Las Vegas.

It's a challenge.

It is a challenge.

I mean, when I was in my twenties, I came here to check out, basically to drink as much as I could to gamble.

Yeah.

And.

You know, it certainly wasn't about being mindful about being mindless.

Yeah.

Yeah, potentially.

But and that's why they say whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, not things you want to write home to mom about.

No, no.

Right.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

And I think, you know, from our perspective, it's a challenge.

It can be a challenge not to give in to those sort of lower temptations.

When we feel stress, when we feel like there's something more we need from the world, whether it's, you know, more food or alcohol, more sex, more money.

You know, Vegas is one of those places where I think it's like all seven sins, right?

Absolutely.

In one hour.

Greed, what is it?

Greed, Lust, Gluttony, etc., etc., etc.. And so the question is, why on earth are we here?

Well, that's a good question.

I don't know why we're here.

Let's get out of here.

Let's go.

We're still here.

According to my research, some of the best vegan food in America is right here in Vegas.

Yep.

Right here in Vegas.

The thing is, don't have to give up having fun.

You don't have to give up feeling good.

It's just a different way, I think, about feeling good, you know, there is things that we indulge in too that we could be a little bit more mindful about.

So there's no better place than Vegas to test how mindful we really can be.

Yeah, it's it's it's like, literally the place to flex your muscles.

It's like the Super Bowl of mindfulness.

You come here, and the competition is everywhere.

The, the part that wants to take you off your game is everywhere, and it's really hard.

So if you're up for the challenge, we've got a great episode coming right up.

Don't go way.

Don't go away.

Hey mambo, don't want a tarantel hey Mambo no more a mozzarella, hey mambo mambo Italiano, try an enchelada with the fishy bacalao and We're in Las Venice and out of all the hotels on the strip.

Why would one choose the Venetian?

Why did we choose the Venetian?

Well, believe it or not, it's actually the largest green building in the world and LEED certified, which is the highest level of sustainability, and the very first plant based restaurant on the strip.

Truth and Tonic.

If you're going to travel, why not stay somewhere that's a little bit kinder to the planet while also celebrating this strange, bizarre creation called Las Vegas for us, having fun can also be mindful.

So let's keep cruisin, keep singing and see more about what this amazing hotel has to offer for conscious travelers.

Now it's safe.

Yes, I do need a hand.

Thank you very much.

We have over 7000 suites split up into three different towers and approximately 17,000 square foot of space on property, of which about 12,000 is air conditioned.

So here at the Venetian, our recycling rates are about roughly 50%, either through donations or re-use and things like that.

How we've been able to achieve such high recycling rates, we actually do a single stream recycling where guests who come to the property don't actually have to do any sorting.

We'll do all the sorting back of house for all of the recyclables.

They just have to throw it in one bin.

And that waste will end up in our sorting dock, which we have sorters.

They're just going through each waste bag.

All the money essentially we make from our recycling efforts, the Venetian gets 50% of that recycling money, while the sorters there get the other half.

One area we do try to separate waste is food waste.

So we do have a separate stream, just strictly for food.

And that's because all of our food waste on property actually goes to a local pig farm to feed them.

But it also helps on the recyclable side because once food waste is mixed with a recyclable, that recyclable is then considered contaminated and no longer able to be recycled.

That includes our soaps here on property, where we send it to an organization called Clean The World that repurposes these soap bottles and sends them to places that are in need of hygiene products.

About 2,000 pounds of bottled amenities and soap each month.

In addition to their robust recycling program, the Venetian powers the hotel with 100% renewable energy.

They also prioritize water conservation with low flow faucets and filtering and recycling nuisance water that usually goes down the drain to water their plants.

Landscaping and horticulture.

[upbeat music] Don't go away.

Up next, the country's first vegan cooking school.

[upbeat music continues] So we're here at the Vegas Vegan Culinary School and Eatery.

So many people are like, oh, it's so hard to go vegan.

It's really not.

And you're really showing them how they can do it.

Classes we offer, they're fun, they're engaging.

You know, you come and you take a two and a half hour or three hour class and you learn about one topic.

It exposes you to something that you might not have even thought about before.

You know what to do with tofu.

Let's come in.

Let's show you how to press the tofu.

And then from there, let's show you how to make a couple of things and, you know, go home, repeat it, and then come back and.

Take another class and, you know, have fun with it.

Absolutely.

And be social and be social, right.

And have relationships and see that there's actually not just weird people and we're not sitting in a circle singing and, you know.

Yes, yes, we can do that.

That may spontaneously break out after we have your crab cakes.

I know you have some food that you have here.

Of course, I have to first mention the thing that looks the most delicious, which is the grilled cheese.

And that's the one thing that people just forget is that cheese doesn't have to have dairy in it.

We've added the onions and it's ooey-gooey and... Wow.

So good, nice little.

I love the onions in it.

Now this one I heard about blew my mind because lox, how does that happen?

In partnership with Sophie's kitchen plant-based seafood.

They have nailed it with their smoked salmon.

Oh wow.

Texture, everything, it's there.

Hmm.

Wow, that is terrific.

I swear that's, That's lox!

Right.

The flakiness.

The smokiness.

That is so terrific.

And of course, the caper, the classic.

And paired with a vegan cream cheese.

Wow.

I love it.

It is important to have fake meat products.

The fact of the matter is, is that there's so many convenient products now.

And then also, at the same time, you can make beautiful vegan food like these crab cakes that we're about to learn how to make.

And you're attracting people and you're showing people it's delicious.

Being plant based is so much easier than you think it is.

You can do it.

You don't need special ingredients.

You can do it.

It's awesome.

And and I commend you for that.

And thank you.

This has been really such a pleasure, but we're not done yet because up next, we're going to learn how to make these slamming vegan crab cakes.

We're going to give you the best vegan eats in Vegas.

That's two V's coming right up.

[funky music] I think there's there's different theories the water like different theories.

wore down the rocks and made it it's just it's just incredible this is just God's creation.

Yup.

Oh, gosh.

Breath of fresh air away from the strip.

Oh, a bit much.

It was a lot.

A lot of vibes.

It's not really our flow, that's all I'm going to say.

That's it.

That's well said.

Which is why it's so wonderful to be here at Red Rock Canyon.

The scenic trail is a 30 mile loop where you can enjoy actual rocks, actual natural sculptures that are not made of plastic and poly glass or poly, whatever it is.

But guess what?

Vegas is not just about the strip.

It's about this strip.

This is our strip, I think.

I think it is.

Yes.

Yes.

A little hiking, some fresh air.

I mean, I love the fact that there's something for everyone.

And I think this is something for us.

Yeah, it is.

It was for you, too And it feels relaxing.

And I feel like I just totally decompressed and, you know, you can take a hike, you can get in nature.

Hey, there's more good food coming up.

Yummy, yummy, yummy.

I mean, so shocking.

Just how much good vegan food is in Vegas.

It's like vegan in Vegas.

That's like a whole new thing.

Yeah.

That's like a movie.

It is a movie.

Yeah, it's G rated.

Don't worry.

It is G rated.

Is it a cartoon?

Animated.

I'd like to see a cartoon character of you.

I thought Harry was a cartoon character.

Look at me.

You were in a past life, right?

Exactly.

I think I was Minnie Mouse.

Minnie Mouse.

Okay.

Would that make me, Mickey?

Or.. For sure, you're Mickey, yeah, yeah.

Oh Cool.

Mickey and Minnie.

The interracial version.

The interracial version of.

Futuristic.

Afro futuristic.

Slightly more hipster.

A little bit.

Mickey's got a beard?

And a bald head?

He's graying.

We're graying.

Yeah, graying.

Yeah, a little bit of salt and pepper.

But he's still got it, still got it.

Well, you know, I feel like if I could come to places like this.

And all you need is a national park pass.

Yeah, we get an annual pass every year.

You get to support the National Parks Conservation at it's finest.

Yeah, you come to a place like this for two bucks.

Yep.

And you continue to support nature and Mother Nature.

And I think your own sanity, at least my own sanity.

Sanity is important.

Yeah, it's very valuable.

Yeah.

I'm still working on building my up.

It's trying to get up, I'm like halfway there.

You and me both.

Well, this is why we try to be conscious.

Two of the least conscious people I've ever met are looking at you right now, anyway.

Well, we're going to have some more fun eating and Vegas-ing and stripping maybe?

Vegas stripping?

if we can stomach more.

A little bit more.

Are we, are you stripping?

No, I'm not stripping, but we'll be on the strip.

Am I stripping?

Being on the strip is called stripping.

Oh, it is?

I didn't know that.

Yeah, Yeah.

Yeah.

We'll take you to a surprising little corner where I actually found a place to meditate and pray right on the strip.

Don't go away.

[Indian music] In addition to a temple in the middle of the strip.

Vegas had even more surprises for me off the strip.

Up next.

[funky music] Super loves being on shoulders.

Say hello.

So here we are at All Friends Sanctuary here in Las Vegas, taking care of animals and keeping them out of kill shelters.

Right?

We rescue mostly farm animals and some animals that are considered farm animals and pets, like potbelly pigs.

This is a place where people can come and make that connection and hopefully see that their, you know, their friends, not food.

It's big happy family.

We're all friends.

We don't want animals to get eaten or euthanized.

And while animals may or may not think about their futures, they want to live.

Yeah.

And they display the fact that they want to live.

Yeah.

In our interactions with them.

Yeah.

So I want people to know that they're individuals and they deserve love and care and that it's humans responsibilities to provide that to them.

Yeah.

Because we're aware and we know what we're doing.

I work 40 hours a week, plus I have a teenager and a husband.

And you have a life.

Yeah.

And you're the head of sustainability for the university.

Right?

I mean, it's like you're moonlighting to do this.

I am.

That's how much you care.

I am.

I also enjoy having people come here and see the animals, interact with the animals, learn about the animals, see that they have personalities, see that they are sentient beings who have the same likes and dislikes as humans you know not the same, but they have likes and dislikes and personalities just like humans.

Mr. Pigglesworth does not like bell peppers.

He will not eat them.

No bell peppers?

That's strange.

No, he doesn't.

But the cows.

Food allergy?

No.

The cows love the bell peppers, you know, they all just like different things.

Just like humans.

Just like humans.

Yep, just like humans.

Hi, Bella.

So this is Annabel Flower.

She came from the High Kill shelter and this is Sir Galleon Longsnout.

Hello, you are so cute.

You are so cute.

I mean, it's just like petting a dog, except their fur kind of bristly.

Kind of like porcupiney, but not sharp.

So they've got really thick hair, but they're so sweet.

Yes you are.

Yes, yes, you are.

Oh, so cute.

Oh.

Yep.

She was found wandering the streets of Las Vegas and ended up at the animal shelter.

Wandering, what was she doing?

Wandering the streets?

Gambling?

Same thing, and people just let their pets, you know?

I mean, in the streets of Vegas?

Yep.

This is a little girl pig.

Just had a little yawn, didn't you?

and this is the little boy and he is deaf.

So I did not name them.

I intend on trying to find them great homes.

Do they like smelly feet?

They love, they're curious, they're curious, pigs are curious.

You guys.

They love to be scratched.

Just stretched out, legs fully stretched.

They love playing in the water.

They like the sunshine.

They like laying in the sun.

Now, how many pounds of one of these weigh?

There you go.

Yeah.

He says yeah.

So they can weigh anywhere from 75 to 300.

A lot of people think getting a pig is really cute when they're little, but like taking care of a hundred, how many pounds?

Hundred, to 150.

Hundred some odd pound grown pig is is a lot of work and that's how they end up here.

Yeah.

[exciting music] What is the backyard chicken problem?

What's going on with the chickens?

The roosters here.

Roosters tend to fight with each and we don't want anyone to kill each other.

So the hens are easy to find homes for.

But roosters.

There's a zoning issue, right?

They're loud.

They will crow all day long.

And all the female chickens you buy from a supplier were born in a clutch of eggs with males and females.

So where did all the males go?

Where?

They were ground up or they were suffocated, just like in the egg industry.

And then some of these chickens came from the slaughterhouse in Las Vegas.

They jumped off the truck and saved themselves.

Wow, Smart chickens.

Yeah.

So smart.

Don't sleep on animals.

They are smart.

No, they are.

We're animals.

Humans are animals too.

Yeah, yeah.

Yes, so these are the turkeys.

We call them The Miracles, because they were Thanksgiving miracles.

Because they didn't get eaten on Thanksgiving.

Because they didn't get eaten.

Now that's a miracle.

So, yeah, but they do love to be petted.

They love it.

They lay down to be petted.

They're pretty much killed by the time they're around six months old.

Six months.

So the turkeys were eating are like basically infants?

They're babies.

Almost all the animals we eat our babies.

So pigs also 6 to 8 months.

Okay.

And we are different than the animals that have to eat our other animals.

Right?

We we understand what we're doing.

And we can make different choices.

We can make choices to eat, you know, the thousands and thousands of plants that exist in the world and be healthy doing it, so.

Yeah, and there's also plant based turkey now.

There is.

It's pretty good.

And it's pretty good.

[funky music] This is May and Holly, the cows.

Holly is May's mom.

They love pumpkins.

Pumpkin time.

Hey!

You want this pumpkin Miss Holly?

They they love each other so much.

And this dog loves pumpkin too.

You like pumpkin too?

They're fighting over the pumpkin.

Trying to steal the pumpkin.

Who knew pumpkins was such a commodity.

So where did they come from?

These two?

So Holly and May were confiscated by animal control here in Las Vegas.

They get so big in just a short amount of time.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You're a calf, but you're huge.

It's really fast.

Yeah.

So she was real skittish.

You can see she has all the all the markings, the branding of the ear.

She has a brand on her.

She had livestock tags.

Um, of course, she doesn't have any of that because she was just a baby when she came.

So wait she's the baby, right?

She's the mama.

That's the mama.

That's her baby.

The baby's bigger than her.

I know.

She drank milk for 15 months.

And a lot of pumpkin.

Boy you can really build up some weight on pumpkin.

A lot of pumpkin, a lot of hay.

We give them lots of hay.

Okay.

Yeah.

[funky music] So this is the sheep.

We named them after the X-Men.

So we have Rogue, Storm, Xavier and Phoenix.

All right.

And they're shy.

They came from a person who raised sheep for meat.

Sheep, special needs, you know, what does it take to take care of them?

Special needs of these guys, is is that we need to sheer them often because they they get hot.

And so we had to kind of learn how to do it ourselves.

Yeah.

You know, you watch a sheep sheerer on Tik Tok or whatnot.

It's fast.

Yeah.

No, it takes us like an hour to do each one because we're being real careful and you know, You don't want to hurt them.

We compost the wool, we go real slow.

Okay.

We're not professionals.

We just go real slow so we don't nick 'em or hurt them.

They don't want that wool on them in a Las Vegas summer.

Right.

Well, this has been awesome.

Thank you so much for the work you do.

You're welcome.

You're amazing.

Thank you.

I hope it gets bigger and bigger, you know, and.

Sustainably bigger and bigger.

Sustainably bigger and bigger, so there can be more pigs and more lambs more goats and more piglets and more cows and more pumpkins.

More pumpkins!

Right on, sister.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Here we go.

Stay tuned for more animal friendly fun.

We're cooking it up with chef Mindy.

[funky music] We got Chef Mindy here.

Who's going to show us how to make your amazing artichoke crabcakes?

That's correct.

You ready to go?

I'm ready to go.

Okay, so grab about a cup.

So grab a handful of those.

Okay, a handful of.

And these are what?

Saltine crackers.

When I was a kid, these were my go to.

Are they not still?

There everybody's go to.

I don't know if they are still.

Grab about two or three handfuls which will be about 30 ounces of artichoke hearts.

Okay, cool.

So now what we're going to do is we're going to stick the lid on it and run it through the food processor.

Okay.

How many pulses?

You want to keep the chunks?

Because the chunks are going to make it seafood-y.

Got it.

See how we're getting , looks like crabcake-y.

There we go.

Exactly.

Nice consistency there.

Yes.

And it really looks a lot like crab used to look.

It does.

All right.

So here I've got your corn.

Stick that in there.

How much corn?

That's a fourth cup.

The equivalent of like three or four scallions.

Okay.

We have old Bay.

This is old, reliable.

Ahhh Yeah.

So this is this is a wonderful seasoning for almost all vegan seafood.

I used to make fun of vegans.

I never in a million years thought I'd be vegan.

No, me either.

Here we are.

And here we are.

Kelp granules and this also makes it seafood-y.

But it has a nice seafood smell.

Mmm hmmm, yup.

You feel like you're in a fish market or whatever.

So now every dish needs garlic.

Every dish needs garlic.

Every dish needs salt and garlic in my opinion.

That's it.

So that's ground up garlic.

This is a relatively simple recipe.

So simple.

So simple.

It'll take minutes.

So next is parsley.

Okay.

Prefer dried?

Dried.

I like dried.

Really?

but there's no reason you couldn't go fresh.

Okay.

Chef's choice.

Yeah, about a half teaspoon salt and just a little spritz of black pepper.

Spritz?

Mm hmm.

Okay Yep.

And then next, we're going to hit Red Bell Peppers.

I'm all about convenience, if vegan is a pain in the butt.

People aren't going to do it.

No.

Quarter cup.

Yup.

And then just toss it in here.

And then just toss it in here.

Okay.

You got to make it easy.

Absolutely.

And it's got to be quick.

People got families.

They have lives.

We're busy, important people.

We need it to taste good.

Yeah, For sure.

Please.

we're going to add some vegan mayo.

I like the mayo because it has the fat and a little bit of richness, creamy, a little salt too.

Pulse that a couple of times.

All right.

You want to give it a taste?

See where we're at?

I do.

Let's see where we're at.

See if we need to tweak it or if we're good to go.

If we're in crab making mode.

Crabcake-y.

Crabcake-y making mode.

Cheers.

Wow.

Dynamite.

Wow.

That's good.

That's good huh?

So interesting.

A little bit extra salty.

We added a little bit more of the kelp, but you can taste the, I like it.

Yeah.

the sea, do you taste the sea?

You really taste the sea.

Those roasted peppers add a nice, Yeah, little kick.

surprising kick to it.

Oh, wow.

I love that.

Do you want to make some patties.

Let's make some patties.

All right.

You can do all sorts of stuff with this.

You don't have to go.

Just crab cakes.

A little slider, perhaps?

Oh for sure.

After that, we just pop it in the oven.

We've gotten our our cakes out.

They look beautiful.

So we're going to sauce it, right?

Yes.

Go ahead and squeeze.

We're going to aim for about a third cup of mayo.

We use vegan mayo.

There's all sorts of different brands now you can choose from.

This is sriracha.

I like it a little bit spicier.

Yep.

Then you'll dig that.

Okay.

Okay.

And then next we've got some lemon juice here, so do about the same.

So we're going to do capers.

But you don't want the capers.

You just want the brine.

Really?

Mmm hmm, That's interesting.

It's just the capers add a little bit of bitterness.

The brine adds a little bit of the gritty flavor.

Oh, interesting.

Fire it up on the machine.

Mmm hmm, adds a little bit of tart.

Nice.

It's good.

Mmmmm You did good with the sriracha.

Love that sambal.

You know what I loved about this is that it's so simple, right?

All of the ingredients is stuff that we can get out of our cabinet.

It was quick.

It's super easy.

I mean, I'm not the only one that can learn how to do this.

Anybody can come here.

Anybody can go online and take your classes.

You have guest chefs all over the world and it's you make it so simple and so easy and you're not going to lose a single thing in flavor.

I'm going to watch you.

You're going to watch me even better.

Look at that texture.

Mm hmm.

Mmmm.

Now that is a crab cake, Miss Mindy.

You dig it?

Wow.

Outstanding.

Thank you.

That is so good.

Thank you.

Rocked it.

Some love Vegas and others love.

Being away from Vegas.

That's all for this week.

We'll see you next time.

Onward and Upward, Peace