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.
Such a beautiful morning. Great morning for a run. Decided to do a 50 minute run this am since I'm off work and would not have to rush to get it in. I start out, the sun is just up, perfect temp, not a lot of traffic. I'm 2miles in, running through a residential section that is so pretty and I remember looking up at some of the trees and thinking how lucky I am to be out and about this wonderful morning. And then I fell flat on my face.
I remember my right shoe catching on an uneven part of the sidewalk and before I could even form another thought I was lying facedown on the pavement. At an intersection. With cars waiting for the light to change. Super. My first thought is "Damn, why couldn't I have fallen about 10 yards back where there was no traffic?" and my second thought was "Damn, this really hurts!". Also felt like I was going to throw up for about a minute, not sure why, but managed to hold that back.
I get up, inspect my hands, which are scraped and burning, and then my knees, which feel the same. And there's some blood. Nothing appears broken, so I start walking it off, trying my best not to hobble. Walked for about a quarter of a mile and decide to see if I can run again. Oh, no, no, had to stop that craziness immediately. So I just keep walking. Other runners start passing me. An 80 year old man walks by like I'm standing still. Just keep walking, have no other choice. But at least the blood isn't dripping off my knee, so that is good. I wanted to scream at all these people passing me, "Hey, I'm injured! I don't always move this slow!", but I managed to hold that back as well.
Got home and hauled out the ice. Hate ice on my body.
Pretty, yes? This is after cleaning, antibacterial goo. Also kinesiotaped both knees to help with swelling.
Does this happen to other runners? Or is it just because I'm a klutzy, poser runner?
Anyway, I hope these puppies heal fast, cause I'm signed up for 10K in 3 weeks! I have training to do!
The bright spots of this am adventure:
*At least I wasn't wearing my Lululemon capris. I was wearing my Ellie ones and I ripped a hole in the left knee. If I had ripped a hole in my Lulu's, I would have thrown up. Hey, Ellie, want to send me a replacement pair?????
*My iphone escaped unharmed, somehow. It was in my Bandi belt, right on my stomach, had to land right on it??????
*Nothing broken!
The dark spots of this am adventure:
*I fell. In public. Mortification.
*I added more scars to my knees, as if I didn't have enough already. What, you think this is the first time I've fallen in public?! Not by a long shot.....
*I've probably set my training back, who knows how much just yet.
I'm going to get up and walk around now, can't let the knees get too stiff. Happy Memorial Day everyone!!!!!!!
It's CSA Tuesday, so I thought I'd better brag tell you guys about this weeks haul.......
Hello giant head of romaine lettuce! Pleased to meet you super sized bok choy! Big bag of spinach? Yes please. Join the party radishes and asparagus. My own little box of strawberries?! Love!!!!!!!
This has to be the best one yet, mainly due to the strawberries. So stinking good. And that much green leafy goodness makes me so very happy. Anywho...
Still running in the morning like a madwoman and loving it. Even ran in the rain Saturday, ON PURPOSE, which of course made me feel super hardcore. To be fair, it wasn't a hard rain, just a nice little mist that kept me cool. Hard rain might be another story altogether.
Memorial Day weekend is coming up and I'm excited to be traveling to spend it with 2 amazing women. We shall eat fantastic food, drink adult beverages and sit in the sun/shade. I will take secret photos of them after adult beverages and post them on this blog.......
Bye for now....
I tried something new last week and it's my new favorite thing and you're going to think I'm really weird that I find this so fantastic, but just stick with me here........... early morning runs.
You were expecting something more exciting? You need to find a more exciting blog, sorry :-)
It's starting to get hotter. I've been super tired after work and struggling to find the energy to get the run in. Other blogs I follow tout the wonderfulness of getting it done early in the day, so I thought I would give it a try.
I was super nervous the night before I tried it. I did as much prep work as possible, laying all my clothes out, notifying a work friend that I was going to run and would text her when I returned as a safety measure, and having my other gear ready to grab (Bandi belt, pepper spray, housekey). I was very nervous about running in the dark by myself so early--4:45am. But as my work friend so kindly pointed out, even thieves and muggers are smart enough to be asleep at that hour. Thanks friend.
That first run, in the dark, was amazing. I did feel nervous, tried to stay alert to what was around me, but at the same time, tried to take in the peacefulness of interacting with the world at this hour. It felt amazing. When I got near the end of the run, I just started smiling because I knew my workout was done for the day. Done!!! The best feeling ever. Here was just a part of my view...
Another plus about running so early? I can run in the street in most places. I can talk out loud to myself. I stop and take pictures of houses that are for sale and dream a little.
I've ran at this time of the morning 3x now and I truly love it. I do not love it when the alarm goes off at 4:30am, but once I'm up and moving, I'm ok. And the payoff is more than worth it.
Also got my second CSA share this week. Yummy goodness!!
Bok choy, kale, salad greens, asparagus, sweet potatoes. Last week I roasted my sweet potatoes with some onions and white truffle oil, then served over a bed of quinoa. Super good. I'm also perfecting a fantastic salad dressing recipe, will post soon.
Bye for now........
