Hi! Welcome to Life is NOYOKE!
We support our readers (USA, Canada, and UK) by helping them figure out which Vitamix to buy and by showing them how to make delicious vegan Vitamix recipes. Our readers support us by using our links to vitamix.com (formally our Vitamix promo code) to make purchases.
The result?
For you: We help vegans, “pre-gans”, and the vegan-curious achieve their goals and live a better life. How? Via the singular, lives-on-your-counter, have-it-forever tool, the Vitamix machine.
For us: We get to do valuable, creative, and fulfilling work that advances our mission.
For the world (our mission): To accelerate the adoption of a whole-food, plant-based diet. 💚
Who is behind this?
Shalva and Lenny Gale are the husband and wife behind Life is NOYOKE.
Lenny’s story
I was a traveling, corporate finance consultant carrying a CPA license and 40 extra pounds. I used smoothies and a Vitamix to turn my life around, and in 2012 started Life is NOYOKE.
Yes, I am a vegan now. 100% since early 2017, and I’ve never felt better.
But, hey, it took me five years to get here. So wherever you are now, you should feel good about that. You’re doing great.
Shalva’s story
Shalva left her corporate training career, a master’s in psyshology, and traditional (non-vegan!) baking skills to join Life is NOYOKE full time in 2016.
No, she’s not a vegan. And at the time of publishing this page, she’s proud to keep a vegan home, but “never will be 100% vegan outside the house.”
Side note: I’ll never forget the day I placed a Vitamix on her counter (before we were living together). Since that day, she’s eaten healthier and has never felt (or looked!) better.
Our story
It’s cute. For twenty years, we kinda knew of each other (but certainly weren’t ready for each other). It took a run-in at the Red Line “El” train in Chicago to finally connect. Today, we’re back in our hometown, Minneapolis, MN, where we live and work.
Who does what
- Develop and describe new Vitamix recipes.
- Style food photographs (her childhood dream job, no joke).
- Manage (and be the voice of) our social media platforms.
- Interpret what people are meaning to say.
- Edit everything.
- Continue “cooking” the baby that’s due in one week (our first!).
- Keep our proverbial car on the road, not going too fast, stopped until everyone and everything is in, well-maintained, en route, locked when parked, licensed, insured, and filled with snacks.
- Writing posts like this.
- Producing our YouTube videos.
- Photographing the deliciousness.
- Making green juice in the mornings.
- Making queso as soon as we run out.
- Remembering that most people are not vegans and do not have a Vitamix, and that’s okay.
- Remembering that life is for living and that after 6pm it’s time to be done working and start enjoying the second half of the day with the people (and dogs) you love.
Lucy, aka Lucille, aka The Seal, is our beloved wonderdog. She’s responsible for reminding us to be compassionate towards all living things.
Why us
1. Giving: Our work begins with a focus on giving. Yes, we give to a variety of causes. But our focus is on giving everything we can.
2. Living: People affectionately know us as Mr. and Mrs. Vitamix; this is all we do. But our Vitamix-on-the-counter, vegan kitchen is more than our working studio. It’s our life. And yes, Shalva surprised me with a dairy-free, Vitamix’d cake at our wedding. (See below.)
3. Thing three (that rhymes with giving and living): Is selling the Vitamix all we want to do? Certainly not. But is it all we should do right now because we’re the best at it and the narrow focus is the most beneficial to the most people, animals, and resources on our planet right now? You betcha!
What to do now
You made it to the bottom of our About page.
If you’d like to welcome us into your inbox on Saturday mornings, sign up for our newsletter.
You can also follow our Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
And if you’d like to keep evaluating us and our work, check out the causes we support, what other people say about us, and, if you want to dig really deep, check out our media kit.
Thanks,
Lenny and Shalva