Deva Premal & Miten released a new album titled “Password” today, featuring healing and heart-centering mantras. I caught up with Deva just a few weeks ago to chat about conscious eating, favorite natural products, and what it’s like to tour worldwide.
Deva Premal & Miten released a new album titled “Password” today, featuring healing and heart-centering mantras. I caught up with Deva just a few weeks ago to chat about conscious eating, favorite natural products, and what it’s like to tour worldwide.
Done a few variations on warrior pose recently? Regularly catch a yoga class after work? Then you’re probably familiar with Deva Premal’s stunningly clear voice featured on dozens of inspirational albums over the last two decades. Deva and partner Miten released a new album titled “Password” today, featuring healing and heart-centering mantras.
Key to their own well-being, particularly while touring, is a health-conscious vegetarian diet, Deva says. Sure, finding good food can be challenging, but the benefits are huge. We caught up with Deva just a few weeks ago to chat about conscious eating, favorite natural products, and what’s it’s like to tour worldwide.
I hear you follow a vegetarian diet. Are there other food habits that you follow?
Deva: Miten and I are both vegetarian. He’s been vegetarian for 35 years and I have since birth (41 years!). We prefer fresh, organic food—although we are not necessarily ‘religious’ about it. We enjoy the occasional veggie pizza and (very occasional!) French fries. But we are strict about no meat, no fish…nothing with eyes.
We have never been on a raw food diet but, over the years, we have enjoyed some beautifully prepared raw food meals. We are always grateful when raw food comes our way.
What health benefits do you attribute to your diet?
Deva: We have travelled continually for the past 18 years (last year we visited 25 countries) and have only missed two concerts due to illness during that whole time. So I guess you could say we are experiencing the benefits of what we eat.
How do you overcome the challenges to eating well on the road?
Deva: The greatest challenge is how to prepare food. Our best bet is to rent a condo with a kitchen. Failing that, we carry a stack of nuts and raw-food crackers, which we munch after concerts in our hotel room. Whenever we visit my mother, she prepares huge amounts of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and cashew nuts roasted in tamari.
We always travel with a bag of healthy snacks, including fresh organic fruit and good quality bars, raw chocolate, etc. Some of our go-to brands include Raw Revolution; Lydia’s Raw Organic Crackers; Body Ecology or Amy & Brian coconut waters; and Tulsi Tea or Yogi Black Chai, which Miten drinks during sound checks.
Do you have any recipes you would like to share with our readers?
Deva: One of our favorite breakfasts, when we’re off the road:
Muesli
Soak oat flakes, prunes, sunflower seeds, and raisins overnight in soy milk. In the morning, add freshly grated ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and 1 tablespoon (per serving) of coconut oil. Sprinkle in chia seeds, maca powder, and raw cacao nibs, and then heat while continuously stirring. Finally, add grated apple or banana. If you’re feeling extravagant, add whipped cream!
