Everyone knows Mayim Bialik from either Blossom or The Big Bang Theory. Fewer people know that this L.A. native also holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience, has two youngsters, and is currently touring the country behind her new parenting book, Beyond the Sling. Bialik holds down a vegan kosher household, and while it adds an “extra level of vigilance” to her diet, she relaxes a bit when it comes to dining out. “I don’t only eat at kosher or vegan restaurants,” she says. “I like to visit vegan restaurants to show my support, but I eat everywhere.” That includes “veganizing” Gordon Ramsay at the London in New York, finding decent Thai food in every city she lands in, and indulging in the occasional square(s) of dark chocolate. Read more of her article from Grub Street Los Angeles here.

BEYOND THE SLING author Mayim Bialik shares the 8 basic principles of attachment parenting:

1. Birth: Prepare for birth and become educated about natural birth options and their benefits for baby and mother.

2. Breastfeeding/breast milk: A human mother’s milk is the optimal food for human babies, and bottle feeding should mimic as many aspects of breastfeeding as possible.

3. Be sensitive: Respond sensitively to your children.

4. Bonding through touch: Use physical contact such as baby wearing, breastfeeding, and massage to convey tenderness, love, and affection.

5. Bedding: Parent your children at night as well as in the day, looking to safe co‑sleeping as an option.

6. Be there: Ensure consistent parenting by a primary caregiver or a trained and sensitive substitute.

7. Be gentle: Use positive discipline, forgoing corporal punishment.

8. Balance: Balance your needs with those of your child.