This morning the Hubz and I had intended on getting up early to run before heading to Montpelier to watch Allie and Caitlin’s race but after a late night out at a concert we decided that a little extra sleep was a better idea. Once we finally rolled out of bed we headed on our way but first we made a pit stop at a new coffee shop Maglianero Cafe for a coffee. This new coffee shop is really a beautiful place and it is bike friendly. I got a hot drip coffee and the Hubz an iced coffee- both were amazingly delicious.
After our coffee we made our way to Montpelier just in time to see Allie and Caitlin at the first start of the race. While we waited for them to make the loop back to the finish we headed to our favorite Capitol City Farmers Market to pick up some veggies and our favorite bookstore Bear Pond Books. Around 9:30 am we headed to the race finish line and watched as runners began to arrive and waited to cheer on Allie and Caitlin.
At the start of their run (girls in pink)
Around 43 minutes I turned to Neil and said they’ll be here in 10 minutes, that’s my guess. Well guess what- I WAS RIGHT ON! Allie and Caitlin turned the corner at 52 minutes and some seconds and they leaped across the finish line at 53 minutes. They were really amazing and I am so proud.
Check out the shirts the girls made for the race:
and the back of Allie’s:
After the race we headed to The Skinny Pancake for crepes and to catch up. Neil and I both got the Vegan Monster with mushrooms and salsa and topped with our favorite hot sauce.
Following brunch we headed to the Hunger Mountain Co-op to take a look but we didn’t pick up much just a yummy chocolate bar and coconut rolled dates for the Hubz. When we were leaving I decided to take a peak at the sign up sheet for my Sugar Blues workshop next week and guess what? It was FULL- even the wait list is full!!! Squeal! Eeek! OMG! The pressure is on!
When we finally made it back to Burlington the Hubz and I took a look at the clock and decided we better head to the gym before it closed. Today we decided to get a 250 meter swim in as well as our run. I haven’t been feeling great, a little congested, so todays workout wasn’t the best on top of the fact that my legs were killing me from yesterdays squats and lunges. After our run we stopped in at Healthy Living for a smoothie and coconut water as well as some organic strawberries and organic apples. The Hubz and I shared a banana-peanut butter-flax-coconut smoothie and it was delicious.
Now it’s time for dinner, The Voice, foam rolling and relaxing with a movie. What are you up to this weekend?
Last night I finally made back into the kitchen for some real cooking and it felt amazing! Since the Hubz and I are not drinking right now I started off with making some mocktails.
This yummy creation is a Ginger-Lime-Pom Spritzer and it is so delicious. Basically cut up a few slices of lime and ginger place in a glass with ice and muddle together then add one part pomegranate juice with three parts seltzer and enjoy!
For dinner I made Spicy Tofu Lettuce Wraps that were to die for and even better on the second day as a salad instead of wraps. So I was back in the kitchen but I also was tired after yoga (where I feel asleep in savasana) that I just through things together instead of measuring things out. So unfortunately this recipe is going to be in splash and dashes and handfuls.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
1-pkg Extra Firm Tofu, diced
4oz white mushrooms, sliced
dash of sesame oil
splash of canola oil
1inch knob of ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red chili, minced
splash or two of tamari
drizzle of sweet soy sauce
glob of hoisin
handful of sliced green onions
In a large skillet heat the sesame oil and canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, garlic and chili to the pan and saute for one minute. Toss in the tofu and stir fry until lightly browned. Add the tamari and sweet soy and cook for 5-6 minutes. Lastly toss with hoisin and green onions and serve.
Garnish with thinly sliced carrots, peppers, cabbage and Bibb lettuce leaves.
Wow this has been a crazy month! I’ve been bogged down with a huge work event that has been dominating my life but now it is finally over (WAHOO!) and I can get back to normal. That being said on top of my day job I also have my health coaching job which has really been doing amazing. I have a few new clients and I have a bunch of workshops going on this summer; the first one is next week! In addition to working one-on-one with clients and doing workshops I am also working on setting up a few podcasts and other healthy living materials. I also am back at IIN doing the immersion program, which so far is wonderful. I know things are sounding crazy already but they get crazier.
I recently was contacted by a friend who writes for Ecorazzi asking if I would be interested in attending and covering Wanderlust Vermont. UMMMMM hello of course I would be! I have actually been talking about Wanderlust to my husband for months now and had been debating going so when I was approached to cover the event I jumped at the opportunity. The Hubz is going to head down to Stratton with me so he can take advantage of the hiking and he will also be attending one day of Wanderlust, my anniversary gift to him. So some of you are probably wondering what the heck is Wanderlust?
Wanderlust is a festival combining the holistic experience of a yoga getaway with the swagger of a rock show.
WHERE:
Stratton Mountain, Bondville, VT WHEN:
June 23rd – 26th
WHO:
Talent includes regional bright lights and international stars, such as:
· Yoga instructors: John Friend, Seane Corn, Bryan Kest, Boston’s Amy Wren, New York’s Schuyler Grant, Elena Brower, Rodney Yee, Kristen Leigh & Barbara Verrochi plus dozens more · Musical Talent: Michael Franti & Spearhead, Andrew Bird, Todd Boston, the Wailers, New York’s Krishna Das, Northampton’s Sonya Kitchell, and Brooklyn’s Sub Swara · Theatrical Performers: Berkshire’s 1st burlesque show Gypsy Lane, Vermont’s own Bread & Puppet (one of the oldest nonprofit theatrical companies in theUS), + Vermont Vaudeville · Art Installations: Stratton resident Hugh Joudry · Speakers: Deepak Chopra, with the support from theOmega Institute, will lead the speakeasy series
If you are attending Wanderlust Vermont let me know!
Among all of this chaos the Hubz and I are still going strong with our running and have some really S.M.A.R.T. goals around what we would like to do and achieve. We are just finishing up C25K and we are going to then work on doing two 30 minute runs and one long run (starting at 2.5m and increasing by .5 until the race) per week until our 5k in July. Following the 5k we are planning a 10k in September and will be using the Hal Higdon training plan; if we like his we will use it to train for our half as well. In other active news the Hubz and I are gearing up to do some backpacking on the Long Trail this summer which should be a lot of fun. We had planned on doing an overnight trip this weekend but we might have to reschedule do to rain. Do you hike? Are you into backpacking?
Lastly lets talk about food. I haven’t been doing much for cooking lately due to the crazy schedule I have had. Most of our food has been pretty boring and basic like greens, beans and grains or salads, however this is all going to change soon! I have plans to start working on another e-book (probably won’t be looking for testers until August) and also working on some really great healthy recipes for the blog.
Well that is what’s going on with me- what is new and good with you?
The past few days weeks I have been working like a crazy person on a big 3 day event for my day job and now that things have calmed down it’s time to make some positive changes. Over the past month there have been too much:
Drinking
Wheat & Gluten
Sugar
and not enough:
Water
Sleep
Green Juice
Blogging
Yoga (since Wanderlust Vermont is only in a few weeks)
That being said I am focusing on reducing sugar, wheat and gluten, eliminating alcohol (until Brewers Fest in mid July) and of course increasing all of those wonderful things I need more of. The Hubz is going to do all of this with me which will make staying on track so much easier. What do you need more or less of?
In just a couple of weeks we will be welcoming summer. It is a short-lived season in Toronto, so I do all that I can to savour every second. Over the next three months, I have local farmers markets to visit, picnics to plan, and patios to patron.
With the change of seasons most people find their appetites turn away from the hearty, warming meals of winter to lighter, fresher fare. I consume a high-raw, vegan diet throughout the year but the bounty of local produce during the summer makes eating raw easy and incredibly delicious. Nothing saves a sweltering afternoon like a big juicy slice of watermelon. Salads, smoothies, and fruit slushies, sure say summer to me.
When the sun is shining I want nothing more than to be outdoors. Eating raw foods, means there is no need to heat up your house by turning on the oven. Putting together a salad, or blending up a smoothie takes a couple of minutes, leaving you more time to spend strolling through the city. Plus, raw foods are easier for our bodies to digest and provide plenty of energy to fuel a fantastic summer full of dancing at outdoor festivals, bike riding by the water and swimming at sunset.
Here’s a great recipe for an energy-packed snack bar to keep you full and satisfied as you tackle your 2011 Summer to-do list.
Sweet Lemon Fig Poppyseed Bars
1 cup of rolled oats (the old fashioned not the instant kind)*
1/2 cup raw cashews
pinch of sea salt
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted (approximately 10)
2 TBSP lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
3 dried Turkish figs
1 TBSP poppyseeds
In a food processor, pulse the oats, cashews and salt until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and process until well combined. Press into a parchment-lined 8X8 pan. Cut into 12 bars. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Thank you to Lindsay for inviting me to share a recipe with all of you. I hope your summers are full of fun and fantastic food. Well, if you’re a regular reader of Lindsay’s blog I have not doubt you’re already eating very well! If you’d like more raw food inspiration I’d love for you to stop by my blog veganculinarycrusade.com.
xo VeganLisa
*It can be hard to find raw rolled oats. They are usually steamed during processing. If you’d prefer to consume only raw ingredients replace the oats with 3/4 cup of almonds.
Hi Bloggies! The next few days I am working 12 hour days (or more) so since I am going to be crazy busy so I have asked Megan to do a guest post about her journey to becoming a runner. I hope you enjoy her inspirational story of how she came to run her first half marathon. She is amazing such an inspiration especially to me because I am preparing to run my first 5k, 5miler, 10k and 1/2 MARATHON (eek) over the next 6 months.
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Hi everyone! My name is Megan. You may remember me from this guest post about what it’s like to live in Germany as a vegan. Now I’m back in the US and blogging about my life as a vegan, dog mom, and runner in Upper Michigan.
Not long ago, that third descriptor – runner – wouldn’t have been included. I did gymnastics in high school and ran sprints on the track team for two years, but at my best I couldn’t run more than 3 miles. Some of the people I looked up to/envied the most in high school were long distance runners, but that sport just “wasn’t for me.”
Throughout college and graduate school I was a casual exerciser, going to the gym a couple times a week (in the best of times) to use the elliptical, lift, or do Pilates.
In September of 2009, after quitting graduate school and spending a summer working and studying in Sweden, I moved to Germany to teach English for a year. It was a life-changing step, but nothing compared to what happened after: I became vegan. I’m still not sure where the conviction came from, but the idea had been simmering in my brain for awhile. Finally, it boiled over and I went vegan overnight in October 2009.
After that, everything changed. I felt like each day had a bit more of a purpose and challenge to it. I began to eat differently, cook and bake more, and to come out of a slump caused by an unhappy two years at grad school and a summer of eating delicious but often unhealthy food in Sweden. I didn’t realize until much later, but I had gained some weight and was just feeling weird in my body. Now, as a vegan, I was thinking much more about what went into my body and what I did for my health. I joined a Pilates studio and started taking class 2x a week.
The fall gave way to winter. I began to make new friends and form a life in Germany, but with life comes struggle. Shortly before Christmas I began a short-lived relationship with one of my new vegan friends, who also happened to be a marathoner. The few weeks the affair lasted were intense and tumultuous and ended abruptly right after my first Christmas every away from my family. I was sad, angry, hurt, and lonely. I was also on break from school until mid-January and had way too much time to feel bad for myself.
Then, one of my new Twitter friends Lindsay (yes, this Lindsay!) retweeted a link to Tia’s post about completing the C25k running plan. I read Tia’s words about her silent struggle to complete the program. I was so inspired and, even though it was bitter cold outside, suddenly needed to go run. Right away.
And that was it! The program was so simple to follow and had such a firm goal that I never stopped. From January to April (I had some breaks for illness and travel) I ran in all sorts of weather, often the only person on the street. I began to feel so much better physically and mentally, and I started to lose some weight I didn’t know I’d gained, likely a result of the running combined with my new diet. I even brought my shoes on a backpacking trip to Portugal ran through the town of Sintra. Who was I?
On April 25, 2010, the last day of my C25k training, I ran the 24th annual Hildesheimer Wedekind-Lauf 5k in Hildesheim, Germany. I could NOT believe it! I was so proud and so thankful that I had felt driven to train, even if I was inspired by pain and sadness.
After the race, I continued to run a few times a week, loosely following the One Hour Runner plan. I moved back to the US in July 2010 and kept going, but in August I began working toward teacher certification at the local university and my Masters thesis was due in October. I stopped running almost completely and before long it was snowy and icy and I didn’t have a park across the street to run in.
I missed it, though, and I also knew how well I had responded to having the goal of the 5k during the C25k program. On New Years Day 2011, after nervously considering the idea in the back of my mind for a week or two, I took the leap and registered for the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon.
Yep. A half marathon. I was so scared but C25k had proved to me that slow, steady, dedicated training can prepare you for things you never thought possible.
I joined my university’s gym and began following an adaptation of Hal Higdon’s novice plan. If I hadn’t registered I never would have trained! Without having $60 invested plus the verbal commitment (to my parents, boyfriend, etc), it would have been so easy to bail. There were many dark and nasty winter days when thinking about going to the gym felt painful. But I stuck with it for 14 weeks, gradually increasing my mileage closer and closer to 13.1.
No part of it was easy, but the rewards were great. Each week brought a new personal distance record. I was accomplishing something and I could see and feel it. As May 15 grew closer, I knew I would be able to finish the half marathon. I had put in the sweat!
On April 23, I ran a local 10-miler (in the SNOW!) as a training run and after that it seemed like just the blink of an eye before mid-May.
The morning of my race (full recap on my blog), I knew I was prepared but it felt like a dream. I had read so many half marathon recaps that I couldn’t believe it was me who was going to run. I was not a runner!
But, in that moment, and the 2 hours and 25 minutes that followed, and all moments since January 2010 and all the ones since, I was and am a runner. If you run, you are a runner. I will be a runner forever and I have the C25k and the support of my Tweeps to thank for it. If you think you could never do it, you can. All it takes is one step, and then another and another – with plenty of walk breaks.
Wrentham Village Premium Outlets where we spent four hours shopping our butts off. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed getting some shopping done while still being able to walk around outside. For lunch we packed up wraps and fruit and enjoyed a nice little picnic on a green patch that we found next to our car. As for the success of the shopping….well the Hubz purchased a bunch of tops and a pair of shorts and I left with a pair of earrings and a tennis skirt; not so successful on my part.
After our shopping trip we were left with a huge dilemma- what do we do now? Honestly there isn’t much happening in the Wrentham area and our hotel which was in Franklin well was just not what we’d hoped for on our anniversary. So we decided that since we got a steal on the room via Hotwire that we would eat the cost and find a new room in Boston so we could enjoy a nice night out. Again turning to Hotwire (seriously addicted) we chose a 4 star in Cambridge and ended up with the Hyatt Regency- WIN!
Our accomodations went from:
Room at Hawthorne Suites - Franklin MA
Room at Hawthorne Suites - Franklin MA
To this:
Hyatt Regency Cambridge
Not only did the romance factor increase so did the ability to get out at night and enjoy ourselves. I mean as much as I loved that evening trip to Target and Shop & Save I’d rather be galavanting around Boston. So we checked in at the Hyatt Regency and headed straight to our room to change and take advantage of their gym – we were in need of a good run to stay on track for our training plan.
View as I Ran
After our run and a good shower we got all done up and took a walk across the bridge to Boston to catch a T to our next destination, Addis Red Sea. We had made reservations at Addis Red Sea because it has in the past been one of our favorite restaurants to visit in Boston. We love the atmosphere and the Ethiopian food and have always had a good experience ….until this past visit. We arrived 2 hours before closing and were seated. We were super hungry so we decided to order a lentil sambusa and the vegetarian plate for two along with a few beers. Well once the girl finally took our order we settled in to what we hoped would be a great night. About 10 minutes later the waitress returned to tell us they were out of the lentil sambusa but they had the veggie if we wanted that instead; we said yes and 10 minutes after that she returned with two sambusas. I had a feeling something just wasn’t right so instead of biting right in like I normally would have I tore a corner off only to find that our veggie sambusa was actually beef; can you imagine if I had taken a big bite!! Well 10 minutes after that I finally got the waitresses attention and told her of the mistake and that we would rather not have an appetizer at all and we would just like our meal at this point.
After waiting a bit longer our meal finally arrived with two lentil sambusas (I guess they found more?). We started into the food immediately since at this point we were ravenous after waiting for almost an hour for our food. After a few bites the Hubz noticed that we were missing our salad that was to go with the meal and that most of the food was cold and in addition to that when we finally took a bite of the sambusas they were freezing in the middle. Overall we had the worst experience ever at this restaurant ever and we have been here many times. Unfortunately, after this experience I wouldn’t recommend Addis Red Sea and wouldn’t return- there are enough other great restaurants in Boston to eat at so don’t waste time (or money) here. Oh and we got charged for the sambusas after the whole mess and the fact we told them to disregard the order since they couldn’t seem to get it right.
Oh well! We didn’t let the dinner get us down instead we headed out for a celebratory (for our anniversary, not the horrible dinner) Manhattan down the road. Honestly one of the best Manhattans ever and I had the best company with me too. Love.
This yummy creation is a Ginger-Lime-Pom Spritzer and it is so delicious. Basically cut up a few slices of lime and ginger place in a glass with ice and 
