Running by the light of the moon

I love the early morning, especially when it is my own choice to get up before the sun does.

This morning I woke up early to run by myself. I have to say that I am very fortunate to live where I do with well-lit streets and plenty of sidewalks so this makes early morning runs a whole lot easier. Often I'll take my personal trainer (Kasey Moe) with me on such runs but there are days when I just need to go it alone. This morning was one of those days and it was absolutely beautiful. After unseasonably warm weather, we have had some cooler evenings and hence mornings so I threw on a sweatshirt and running pants and set off on my neighborhood route. I don't run with headphones (ladies, please don't run with headphones outside, especially in the dark!) and the stillness at 5:30 is so peaceful. What made this morning's run even more perfect was the full moon still hovering in the west. If you are looking for distraction during a run, focus on something beautiful around you--the flowering trees, the baby bunny enjoying his breakfast, the birds cheering you on. This morning, my beautiful was the full moon and my thoughts about everything and nothing. This is why I run.

Eat More Fud

I returned to Fud, Kansas City's best vegan restaurant, today for lunch. This is the forth time I have eaten at this adorable little eatery on 17th and Summit and I am more and more impressed each time. When Brian and I checked it out a year ago, Fud was newly opened and very slow. The food was definitely good at that point but we waited over an hour for our meals to be served. In the past month, I have visited Fud both for lunches and dinners and the service is exponentially more efficient. I'm really happy about this because the dishes they serve are so delish and I was hoping for the service to match.

Today I had the tostada with a side salad. All the ingredients are very fresh and tasty. On the tostada, you have a choice of "meats," one of which is called "wild mild." While I am not 100% sure of the ingredients, I can guess that there is wild rice, mushrooms, and a variety of spices that make it extremely tasty. The side salad was great too, loaded with fresh, crispy veggies. Here is what the meal looked like...

I know I am partial to vegan food but any carnivore would have to admit that the mixture of tostada ingredients is extremely tasty and substantial. I really enjoyed my meal and unlike usual days when I eat at home, I didn't feel the need to have an afternoon snack between lunch and dinner.

I am not a food critic so I am not going to go into detail about the qualities of the ingredients or their combinations. Simply put, I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch! The other aspect of my dining experience that was exciting is that the restaurant filled up while I was there. This has been my experience every time I have eaten at Fud. It is encouraging to see how many vegans there are and/or people who are willing to try vegan food in this land of barbecue!

It's What's for Breakfast

People will often ask me what I eat for breakfast as a vegan since I try to avoid eggs and breakfast meats. Now, I am a huge fan of breakfast so I like to take the time to put together a fairly substantial meal. I realize some of you don't like to eat much in the morning so you can always adjust based on your body's own needs. But study after study shows how important it is to eat breakfast! Try it out and you will feel more complete throughout the day.

So the picture above shows my tofu scramble. Last night, I sliced up onions, peppers and mushrooms so I didn't have to do it this morning. I sautéed these veggies first and then crumbled some tofu on top, continuing to cook the mixture for about five minutes. I also added a little Italian seasoning and pepper for some extra flavor. Topping it off with 1/2 an avocado will add some healthy fats and delicious taste to the mix! Today was a running day for me so I also had Ezekial toast with peanut butter so I am not starving in a few hours (I am always more hungry throughout the day when I start with a run). Finishing this off with a clementine makes the breakfast complete.

I must admit, I am definitely a morning person so the thought of putting a full breakfast together is fine with me. But even with an early run, followed by a shower and making breakfast for CJ, I still had plenty of time to put this all together. When you slice up the veggies the night before, the morning work for this meal literally takes 7 minutes. Not as fast as putting a pop tart in the toaster, but a heck of a lot healthier!

Really people???

I'm installing a new segment on this blog called "Really people???" to point out some of the stupid (sorry but there is no other way to put it) things that humans do to animals. Here is an article from the New York Times that talks about the practice of dyeing baby chicks while they are still in their eggs so they hatch in all manner of colors. How bored are we as humans that we have to do things like this?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/us/dyeing-easter-chicks-raises-concerns.html?_r=1&hp

Return to Local Burger

Well hello, Lawrence. It's so nice to see you again!

I returned this afternoon with Brian and CJ to the one and only Lawrence, Kansas... home of the NCAA championship-bound KU Jayhawks. Lawrence has always been one of our favorite places to visit since we moved out here, but for whatever reason, we have not been in over a year. Perhaps our impending move gave us the excuse we needed to head twenty minutes west of Lenexa to explore this fun, hippie, yummy town once more. Either that or the 85 sunny degrees on the first day of April!

So after picking up some Keenes for Brian (making our family summer footwear complete!), we ventured over to Local Burger to pick up some dinner. First off, I love walking into a restaurant knowing we are going to have more than one choice on the menu. For vegans, Local Burger has several options including possibly the most fabulous veggie burger (or at least my favorite) in the area as well as tofu burgers. Of course this is a burger joint but everything they serve comes from very local farms. Anyway, Brian and I ordered the veggie burger with our choice of toppings and little CJ requested the kiddie tofu burger which he enjoyed with a side of fresh organic fruit and rice milk. On my burger, I added lettuce and tomato and Veganaise! It may seem like a little thing, but I get very excited when I see things like rice milk and Veganaise on a menu. We finished our meal with a gluten-free, vegan chocolate chip cookie which was okay but a yummy cookie nonetheless.

After spending the week showing my cousin all the vegetarian and vegan options Kansas City has to offer, working on ordering cheese-free food (at a pizza place no less!), and feeding the baby calves at Deanna Rose this morning, I ate my veggie burger feeling so good about the choices we've made in the past few years about our eating. Sometimes it can be a real effort to turn down the ice cream or the cheese pizza (and lord knows I don't always do it!) but when I make conscious choices to eat vegan, I am completely satisfied that we are making the decision to bring health to ourselves and to the world, one veggie burger at a time.

Local Burger

714 Vermont Street

Lawrence, KS 66044

www.localburger.com

Vegan Bodybuilding

Even though I am not exactly a follower of the bodybuilding circuit, I was excited when I saw this article posted on the home page of the New York Times this morning. Traditionally, bodybuilding has been associated with the stereotype of steroids and steaks. On the other hand, the stereotype of a vegan is that they are skinny, lacking muscle and strength. These bodybuilders show that you can, in fact, build muscle on a plant based diet. Just remember that everything has protein in it! I think people forget that vegetables and fruits have protein, and that protein is important but it is not the be all end all in food nutrients.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/sports/vegans-muscle-their-way-into-bodybuilding.html?_r=1&hp

A Healthy New Year

What does it mean to be healthy?

To be honest with you, my own definition changes from time to time. There are times when I feel unbelievably healthy because of the way I am eating and exercising. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I did a version of the vegan juicing cleanse we did back in February. I felt fantastic! It was amazing to go into the holiday season cleansed of sugar, processed crap, caffeine and alcohol. I practiced yoga every day, did moderate but challenging workouts, and meditated at least ten minutes every morning. The perfectionist in me swore I would never put a drop of refined sugar in my body again because I felt so amazing living and eating the way I was.

But really? I should know myself better... and allow myself some moderation and balance. Because let's face it, I love my coffee... and it's okay to have a tall soy no whip peppermint mocha... and I enjoy a glass of wine now and then.

So does true health come only from drinking green juice, holding down dog for a good length of time, and rejecting all cookies that come your way? Can you only be healthy by eating all organic produce and spending your whole paycheck at Whole Foods? Of course not! Such a way of life would cause so much stress that it would counteract any health benefits you might receive from your healthy habits.

The key is to find balance and moderation. Since we're starting the new year, I would like to find something to focus on for 2012. I'm not necessarily calling this a resolution, but I do want to focus on finding balance and moderation in my nutrition and exercise and let go of those silly perfectionist tendencies that cause too much stress. Finding health in 2012 is going to be synonymous with finding balance.