Get ready to fall in love with vegan Italian food. In this delicious episode of Food Heals, Allison sits down with Chef Tara Punzone, founder of LA's award-winning vegan restaurant Pura Vita, and renowned author Gene Stone (Forks Over Knives, How Not to Die) to talk about their brand new cookbook, Vegana Italiana.

From mouthwatering pastas and creamy vegan ricotta to tiramisu you'll dream about, this episode explores how simple, clean ingredients and a little love can create unforgettable meals that are as good for you as they are for the planet.

You'll discover:

• The story behind the first vegan Italian organic restaurant in the U.S. and how it survived Covid and thrived

• How Tara and Gene teamed up to bring her recipes and stories to life in Vegana Italiana

• The secret to making authentic Italian flavors without dairy or meat (hint: it starts with olive oil and San Marzano tomatoes)

• Why real Italian food makes you feel good instead of bloated and how ingredients grown in Italy differ from those in the U.S.

• What "biodynamic wine" actually means (and why you'll never drink the same way again)

• Tara's top favorite recipes from the book, including her vegan tiramisu, handmade gnocchi, and addictive mozzarella

• How to stock your "Essential Vegan Italian Pantry" for success

• The mindset shifts that helped Tara manifest her dream restaurant and now, her dream cookbook

Listen now to learn how to cook, eat, and live the Italian vegan way, full of passion, flavor, and love.

We've all heard the promises of The Secret. If you think positive thoughts and raise your frequency, you can have, be, and do anything you want. But what happens when your nervous system is stuck in trauma and doesn't feel safe enough to receive? That's when manifestation stops working and survival mode takes over.

In this episode of Food Heals, Allison Melody chats with Empowerment Strategist JJ Flizanes to explore the 4 survival states, how they block our manifestation, and how to move from trauma to transformation.

Fight is when your body gears up to defend at all costs. Think Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games or Will Smith at the Oscars yelling, "Keep my wife's name out of your f--king mouth."

Flight is when your system tells you to run or avoid the situation entirely. Scooby-Doo and Shaggy bolting from monsters. Forrest Gump's iconic "Run, Forrest, run." Meredith Marks disengaging.

Freeze is when you shut down, dissociate, or feel paralyzed. Think Ophelia in Hamlet, frozen and silenced by grief. Harry Potter stunned into stillness when Voldemort reappears.

Fawn is when you abandon your own needs in order to appease or please others. Kyle Richards feeling guilty when Kathy has to apologize to her, Sansa Stark pledging her loyalty to King Joffrey in Game of Thrones just to survive.

In today's episode, you will learn:

• Why traditional Law of Attraction teachings stop at the mind and miss the body

• How trauma and unprocessed emotions can keep you stuck in survival states

• Tools to shift from survival into safety so you can finally align with your desires

• The exact steps JJ takes herself when she feels triggered and needs to reset

Listen now to discover how to move from survival mode into flow so you can finally create the life you have been vision-boarding. Get tickets to JJ's event October 17–19 and save $250 with the code FOODHEALS250 at jjflizanes.com/unleash.

Ten years into Food Heals, Allison Melody broadens the lens: from food as medicine to the health of our culture. In this deeply personal episode, Allison processes the news of a public assasination, her visceral grief as a daughter who lost her father, and the chilling implications for public figures, creators, podcasters, and anyone who speaks publicly.

She traces how social media outrage, algorithmic incentives, and political extremism erode empathy and makes the case that love (not hate, not fear) is the only path to individual and collective healing. Along the way, she shares her family's story, why she started Food Heals, and how to protect your "information diet" the same way you protect your plate.

Theme: Hate does not heal hate. Only love heals.

This episode contains discussion of murder, political violence, cancer, grief, social-media harassment, and deplatforming.

• Why "the health of our nation depends on more than food" and what that means for free speech

• Allison's visceral reaction to the news and how it connects to losing both parents to cancer

• The attention economy: how algorithms reward outrage and dehumanization

• A practical "information diet" for your mind and nervous system

• Powerful messages from fellow creators about responding with active love (not more anger)

• A simple framework to shift your state: breath, music, gratitude, service

• A rallying call for creators: "A microphone is not a shield…the First Amendment does not make us bulletproof—but it should make us brave."

• Your voice matters, even when it is inconvenient. Free speech is not about agreement, it is about human dignity and the right to speak without violence.

• Protect your mind like your body. Curate your inputs, fast from outrage, and refuse dehumanizing content, no matter the target.

• Gratitude is medicine. A daily "what's good?" practice shifts your state and ripples outward.

• Love is an action. Compassion, curiosity, and disciplined, justice-honoring love are stronger than hate.

• If this episode resonated, please rate and review the show and share it with someone who needs a dose of hope, sanilty and logic.