I spent the past weekend in Nashville with great friends and great food. And because I am a food nerd, I must share the greatness of this food with you.
On Saturday we had a late lunch/early dinner at a place called Wild Cow. Very small, local restaurant. So many vegan/gegan options it was hard to choose. Luckily, we all ordered something different and everyone was willing to share :-)
The appetizer was chips with vegan cheese and a very unique salsa. It had a sweet taste to it that we all thought was cinnamon, but our server informed us it was coriander. Very tasty. Sorry I didn't get the pic earlier, but we were hungry.
We each ordered a bowl that consisted of a protein, kale, veggies, sauce over your choice of quinoa or brown rice. My bowl contained a lentil mixture with veggies, with added steamed kale over brown rice with garlic aioli. So very good.
One of my friends got this delicious bowl that had tofu, kale, some veggies over quinoa with a peanut flavored sauce. The table voted this bowl to be the best. And prettiest.
Even though we were pretty full, we could not pass up taking some of these with us--gegan cupcakes!!!!!
Never dreaming that this meal could be topped, we got up the next day and I verbalized the dream of being able to go out to breakfast and have a gegan pancake, knowing it was just a wild dream. Well guess what? Not in Nashville, my friends.
Let me introduce you to the Pfunky Griddle.
This place is pure genius. Each table has it's own built in griddle in the middle. You order the type of pancake batter you want (whole grain, regular, vegan or gegan), add in your toppings (mine was blueberries) and whatever side you want (we got potatoes to share).
Here is one of my friends showing her love for the griddle.
Gearing up
We had to stand up to ensure a good flip
The aftermath
It was fantastic. I haven't had a gegan pancake since dropping gluten and I've never had a vegan pancake that I haven't made myself since I became vegan. Well, okay, I technically made this one too, but only the cooking part! No prep, no clean up! We were some happy people when we left that place, let me tell you.
Both places highly recommended. Check them out.
It's done, it's in the books and I accomplished my goal of not being last.
Pre-race view of the capital building, it was such a beautiful morning.
I lined up back in the 12min pace group with the 3 friends I was with, knowing that it was the last time I would see them until the finish :-) And then we were off.
It's so different running with a large group of people. Since I always run alone when training and have no one to challenge me, I find that I run much faster in race situations. I guess the my competitive spirit kicks in. I felt pretty good throughout the race, even on the hills, but don't worry, there was an 80 year old man running near me that kept me humble. The only time I got ahead of him was at one of the water stations and then he passed me at the end, about a quarter mile before the finish. He kicked my butt. I hope I can do that to some young thing when I'm 80......
The vegan with Ronald McDonald. Pretty random. At least it wasn't the Chik-Fil A cow......
All in all a great first 10K, finished in 1hr and 6min, which is much better than I expected. Thinking my next will be July 4th, the race is downtown, practically at my front door, how can I not run it????? But I do dread the heat.
So what will happen dear readers? Will I beat my time of first 10K? Will I find another random restaurant character to take my pic with? Will I run through sprinklers in people's yards to cool down and then fall down because my feet are wet? Stay tuned.......
Last night I took myself to the one night only showing of Spirit of the Marathon II, looking for motivation for my upcoming 10K this Saturday.
It was an amazing documentary that followed 6 people running the Rome marathon. For some it was their first, for others their 16th! Men and women, all ages, many different reasons.
This movie makes you want to go out and run a marathon! Or at least a half-marathon! It did inspire me to go out Saturday and just try my best, have fun and pay attention to the experience.
This movie also highlights the work of Team World Vision, an organization that raises money for and awareness of the need for clean, accessible drinking water for people in other countries. Amazing! I wanted to run a marathon just to raise money for this work. Or maybe a half-marathon. Please visit their website for more info www.teamworldvision.org
Gotta go work on my playlist for Saturday. I'll report back after.
Here are some things that I am loving right now, and you should too.....
This stuff is so good over red lentils and basmati rice. And I'm sure there are many other uses I haven't even thought of yet. Give me some ideas....
Like being "regular"? You know what I mean! We all need good bacteria in our guts for optimum digestion and fermented foods are a great way to keep things moving. Wildbrine has fermented sauerkraut in 4 different flavors that are delicious! These are the only 2 I have tried......so far
New flavors of Larabars! Love these things. So many of them are gegan and I so love the fact that the ingredients are so simple, usually 5 or less, and you will recognize all of them. I swear! These are great to keep in your car, purse, at work, for when you need a quick, fairly healthy option.
Gegan sour cream that actually tastes like sour cream! Finally! I've tried other brands and honestly had not even bought sour cream for over a year because I had given up. But this one is a keeper.
Now...... go shopping. I gotta go pick up this week's CSA.
