Author Jessica Seinfeld on parenting, stress and letting go

Written by Stephanie Croft, CNN

Jessica Seinfeld, as Jillian Michaels would say, knows a thing or two about no pressure. Whether it’s her very popular fitness show, “The Class,” or the how-to books of the busy urbanite, Seinfeld also owes a good deal of her success as a businesswoman to her baby son, Henry.

During an appearance on SiriusXM’s “A Town Hall,” Seinfeld talked about the impact the media, friends and fans’ feedback to her wildly popular weekly podcast, “Jessica Seinfeld,” has had on her businesses, specifically her newly launched 25% Vegan Made Easy , a cooking and living solution for “modern busy mothers.”

Jessica Seinfeld photographed at her home in Brooklyn, New York. Credit: Stephanie Croft

“People come to me with their issues of stress and everything, and my question to them is — have you ever taken time to think about, like, are we doing the things that are good for us? And then that’s like, completely the two-part answer to everything that’s ever happened to you,” she said.

“I don’t feel that it’s being forced, but people would come to me — I’m like, ‘Oh, I knew you always wanted to cook this, and I knew you always wanted to get your kids into the best preschool, and these things you wanted did it — but you could just stop.’ And I just get really excited about being a mother and being able to tell people that. Because if everyone could just do that, we’d be all right.”

In addition to her podcast and the 25% Vegan products, Seinfeld launched the #30MinuteMenu site, where, using an app, you can create a home-cooked meal in 30 minutes or less.

Seinfeld encouraged viewers to turn to each other and their friends when stressed over things like food expenses or home fitness routines.

“I think, especially right now, with all of these topics being so important to families, it’s really important that we’re talking to each other,” she said. “We need to be showing each other our better selves, and that’s why ’30 Minute Menu’ is so great, and it’s also why I have the upcoming show ‘Jessica Seinfeld’s Vegan Dinner Party.’ I just thought, we can’t do anything to create a bubble that makes us feel more alone.”

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