A Taste of Vegan Chicago

I went to Chicago this weekend to visit some dear friends of mine from high school and just had to try some of the Windy City's vegan cuisine. As you can see from the picture above, I was even able to get in my green drink! (Don't worry, I also sampled some of the best hot fudge and non-vegan cupcakes I've ever had too). We visited Karyn's Raw Cafe in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Now, it's not all raw so in addition to my green drink (called the Peaceful Warrior) I also had the Wild Rice Mix which included rice, barley, avocado, spinach, tomatoes and other yummy veggies. It was fabulous. Here's what it looked like:

My friend had a portabella dish, seen here:

Overall the food was quite good and I felt especially healthy after the Peaceful Warrior. Attached to the cafe was a little vegan shop with everything from vegan desserts to trail mixes to books about healthy eating. There are also several other Karyn's restaurants in Chicago so check them out if you happen to be in the midwest! Here is the website: http://www.karynraw.com/

Yesterday, we went to brunch at a place called Orange, which was also in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. It's not a vegan place (and I didn't eat vegan there) but they had a very interesting and yummy dish I wanted to share. It's called Frushi and it is essentially coconut rice with fruit instead of raw fish (thank you very much). It was a delicious treat and a nice addition to the rest of my meal. Here is the website for Orange:  http://orangerestaurantchicago.com/Main.html

Rabbits and Crickets and Owls, Oh My!

There is nothing better than getting up just before the sun and going for a nice, sweaty, early morning summer run. Okay, well maybe there are a few things that are better like sipping rum punch on a Caribbean beach or box seats behind home plate at the Stadium, but for crazy old me, not much beats running with the bunnies. I'm going out of town this weekend and, given that my half marathon training plan has started, I needed to get in a six mile run that I would normally do on a Saturday. I got up at 5 and took off on a steady pace through my neighborhood. The first thing I heard was a Great Horned Owl hooting in a tree across the street. Of course the crickets were chirping away as well. And what run would be complete without the 22 rabbits that I saw in the hour that I ran? Now, running in the morning may not be your idea of a good time, but as I was out bonding with nature this morning, one thought was going through my mind.

I love this. 


Even if you don't want to run in the morning, go out for a walk just as the sun is coming up or stand on your front porch or just open the window and listen to the sounds of the morning. It can be beautiful so matter where you live. We currently live in a very typical suburban area but I remember clearly my early morning runs when I lived in Hoboken, NJ. I would get up early and get my run in before work and it was just as beautiful, if not more so, as it is here. Part of my run took my along the piers by the Hudson River and there, right before me was the most beautiful skyline in the world. It was amazing! I guess my point is this: take some time to get up early, enjoy the silence before your crazy day starts, and breathe. You might be surprised how well your day will go after that.

Knowing where your food comes from

It's easy to turn a blind eye to where our food comes from. As long as it's in the neat, clean aisles of the grocery store, it must be fine, right? As we speak, however, immense cruelty and suffering is being dealt out to the animals that will become America's sirloin, prime rib, and bacon. But two things are happening in regards to this cruelty: 1) We don't want to hear about it because, let's face it, we'd be morally obligated to give up our bacon double cheeseburger (what a shame that would be!) and 2) We're not being allowed to hear about it or see it because factory farms won't let people in to see how their operations run. Is there not a serious problem when we are not given access to see where our food comes from??? 


Read this article from Mark Bittman and, if you choose, look for his articles in the NY Times. He brings up excellent points and makes a case for being more conscious of our food choices. Hopefully one day his message and others like it will be loud enough for everyone to hear...

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/banned-from-the-barn/?ref=opinion