If there were an award for the most wellness-focused couple in Los Angeles, Jay Shetty and Radhi Devlukia would take the cake.
In Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles tell us step by step their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Shetty is a celebrity life coach, author, and host of the “On Purpose” podcast, where he has had vulnerable conversations with people like President Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian, Kobe Bryant, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Oprah Winfrey. His wife, Devlukia, is a clinical dietitian, Ayurvedic nutritionist and author of the cookbook “JoyFull: Cook Effortlessly, Eat Freely, Live Radiantly”, which will be published on February 27. They are both vegan and together they have a sparkling tea brand called June, which contains adaptogens and nootropics such as lion's mane, acerola cherry, and ashwagandha. Furthermore, Shetty was a monk for three years.
The UK-born duo previously lived in New York, but Devlukia said Los Angeles, where they've called home for the past five years, “has felt more like me.”
“I loved moving to Los Angeles,” Devlukia said, “the slower pace, the energy, being surrounded by more nature and just everyone's general attitude toward their well-being. “All of our friends love sleeping in and getting up early, and they all prioritize their health a lot more.”
“If you give two Brits blue skies and sunshine, that's it,” Shetty added. “That's all we need”.
The green-eyed couple's ideal Sunday in Los Angeles involves meditating at home, walking through Griffith Park, heading to their favorite farmers market to pick up ingredients for one of Devlukia's delicious recipes, and enjoying a sweet treat at the end of the night. . Here they take us for a walk. (To be honest, if I did at least a quarter of the activities on your itinerary, I would feel pretty good about myself.)
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
(Photo courtesy of Jay Shetty and Radhi Devlukia)
7 am: wake up and meditate
Devlukia: I'll wake up around 7am, brush my teeth, put on some comfortable clothes, and then do my meditation. That's a weekday and weekend ritual. I usually meditate for about an hour and then Jay [join me].
Shetty: I would like to wake up at like 11 in the morning, but it never happens. I get up around 7:30 am
Devlukia: So we will do our meditation and breathing in the morning. I usually drink hot water with some spices. I have this spice blend that I love with coriander, cumin, and fennel seeds.
8:30 am: Hot Pilates and walk in Griffith Park
Devlukia: I'll usually work out after that.
Shetty: That's where we part ways. I usually go for walks. She likes high intensity. I like low intensity.
Devlukia: On the weekends I do hot pilates, hot yoga or go running somewhere. I just started coming back to Air-conditioned room. I really like your classes. The teachers there are amazing. One teacher I have specifically gone to is Chelle. I think she's great. Then, for hiking, we like Griffith and Runyon [Canyon]. One of our friends loves to find different places for us to hike about an hour away. He will choose a place and sometimes we will join him.
Shetty: I also love pickleball. I have a group of friends that I'm going to go play pickleball with for a couple hours on a Sunday morning. And if it were up to me, I would love to play a game of soccer. That would be like my ideal ideal Sunday, but I'll settle for pickleball because it's hard to get 22 guys to play soccer together in Los Angeles.
11am: Brunch at Nic's in Beverly (if Devlukia isn't cooking)
Devlukia: We usually eat after working out on the weekends.
Shetty: If we are going to eat out, I love to go Nic is in Beverly. It is one of our favorite restaurants. Nic's is completely plant-based. They have a Benedict, which is amazing. That's quite filling because it has tofu.
Devlukia: We also have the vegan three cheese omelet.
Shetty: That's if we're going out, but Radhi usually makes a great brunch. [at home]. If she's not in town, then I have to go out.
(Photo courtesy of Jay Shetty and Radhi Devlukia)
Devlukia: At the moment, what I've started doing is (because I created the recipes in my book about a year and a half ago) picking something every weekend and making it. [Recently]I made vegetarian frittata muffins for breakfast.
Shetty: they are so good.
Devlukia: I also sometimes make a chickpea flour tortilla with vegetables inside or I make us an epic sandwich. I have a sandwich in my book, Everything Sandwich. I love sandwiches to be spicy, that's why they have pesto and hummus. I'll make some sauces myself to put on there, and it's like a super loaded sandwich.
Shetty: One of our favorite things to do is also go to the Hollywood Farmers Market. That's our favorite. If Radhi is cooking something, he will go and buy all the ingredients there.
Devlukia: Yes, that's what I usually do if I make sandwiches. First I will get fresh bread from the market, then I will get all the toppings and fillings and then I will create something magical from it.
2:30 p.m.: Go out with friends or relax at home
Devlukia: Or we take two paths. One way is to pick some friends to hang out with, whether that means going to their house and just hanging out. Or if we just feel like being together, usually mid-afternoon is when we choose a movie to watch.
Shetty: Just something relaxing.
Devlukia: [Recently] Instead of watching a movie, we would just sit and read together. So we'll read separate books for about an hour simply because sometimes during the week you don't have time to really dive into the books you want to read. We really appreciate having time to read. I am reading “The Courage of Unloved,” “The Daily Laws,” which Jay also recommended, “Attachment,” and some spiritual books. I read several books at the same time. Embarrassingly, I'm also reading Jay's “8 Rules of Love” because he never finished it when he came out, and it's in fact an amazing book. [Laughs]
Shetty: I am reading a book called “A Therapeutic Journey” by Alain de Botton, who started the School of Life. It was a gift from one of my recent podcast guests.
5 pm cOK some indian comfort food
(Photo courtesy of Jay Shetty and Radhi Devlukia)
Devlukia: We will cook dinner. Generally is [just] us or some of my friends.
Shetty: Everyone has been ordering all week and wants some homemade food, they're coming. All other children of Radhi.
Devlukia: It's never really planned. If we message someone, I'll just say, “I'm making dinner. Come if you want,” so it will only be one or three people. My friends often ask me to prepare Indian food for them. There will be different types of curries and some vegetarian dishes. I have this sweet potato, green bean and cashew curry in my book which is my go-to option. I'll make it with maybe some flatbreads or naan and a yogurt sauce on the side, and then some kind of dahl.
Shetty: We had this pact since we got together because she is a great professional in the kitchen. I love everything she does, so I trust her, so I'm happy to welcome anything you want to do.
Devlukia: He is someone who eats to live, not lives to eat. She is very friendly and loves that I experiment with food, but what she is most excited about is chocolate. So that's like his indulgent food. Other than that, he will eat to live and be happy with whatever he gets.
Shetty: And that's why I don't ask for things because if they asked me “What do you want?” I would say a burger or something basic. But if I don't say that, I understand all this.
5:30: Or maybe go to a restaurant.
Devlukia: I've had a hard time finding good Indian restaurants in Los Angeles. There is an area in Artesia called Little India where they have all these amazing Indian restaurants. I like Surati Farsan Mart and Honest [Restaurant]. But around here, if I really want an Indian fix and can't be bothered to make it myself, there's a place called Tulsi Restaurant [that I like]. They make really amazing plant-based vegetarian Indian food.
7:30 pm: Have dessert
Shetty: If I misbehave, they will give me dessert. Van Leeuwen. They have a vegan list of flavors, which are amazing. I will have it chocolate fudge brownie ice cream with chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, honeycomb crunch, and maybe some chocolate brownie pieces, depending on how I'm feeling. Plus, hot fudge!
Devlukia: Normally if we go out for dessert, we have to make two pit stops. my place is yoga-urt, which has frozen yogurt. I get similar ingredients. They make a hot chocolate sauce and I like to add some strawberries, some nuts and mochi.
Shetty: You could also add some broccoli. Add some spinach. [Laughs]
Devlukia: Think that if something has fruit it is not a dessert. How rude! [Laughs]
8 pm: Get ready to go to sleep.
Devlukia: We will be back and honestly we both slept early. We're in bed at 9 p.m.
Shetty: Especially on a Sunday. I'll look at my calendar for the rest of the week and my agenda. I will set an intention for how I want to start the week.
Devlukia: I will do a skincare routine, which I love, every night. I will exfoliate and refresh for the week. Then we will go to bed. We both fell very quickly. At nine o'clock we will be eliminated.
