Quick Cheesy Sauce

I survived my 7.5 mile leg of the CIM Relay yesterday in frigid 27 degrees, barely! When I arrived at the start of the leg, I didn’t want to leave my warm car as I watched other runners uncomfortably dash to the start in skimpy running clothes.

I finally did. For the race, I layered moisture wicking underwear, capri running tights, long running tights, and running shorts. I also rocked a thermal running turtleneck under a No Meat Athlete tee covered by a grungy hoodie while waiting to start. All those layers worked well. So did my ear warming Target special headband, one of these days I will invest in actual running ear warmers. :-)

What did not work were the fleece gloves I was wearing because my hands were so cold at the start and for the first miles of the run that they hurt bad enough that I could barely remove one to use my phone! So I will be investing in better running gloves with a smart phone touch feature before I try to run another winter race!

I also really needed a scarf or mask to cover the lower half of my face because my lips and nose were numb for most of the race, so numb I could barely sip from my water bottle and breath through my nose!

It was interesting seeing what other runners were wearing – some were in tank tops and running shorts which I can’t even imagine! I was running next to a guy for a bit who’s hair was all frosty because his sweat was freezing, yikes!

I survived it and maintained a pretty good pace considering. My poor face was frozen and wind burned!

And I wasn’t the only runner displaying passion for a plant-based diet.

 

Despite all the challenges, the running part actually seemed easy and the mile markers flew by as I checked out all the other runners and took in the scenery.

I was hauling pretty good for the first mile desperate to get warm!

But botched the last mile a bit since it took a few minutes to get my frozen hand out of the glove and stop RunKeeper after making the relay exchange with my sister, oh well.

It was an experience and I’m glad I did it, but feeling it today! So I decided to keep dinner simple using our new toy – the T-Fal Electric Food Steamer.

Staying 100% raw in the winter is tough for me, by dinnertime I’m usually craving something steaming when it’s freezing outside. But I’m trying to steam foods more instead of frying them and adding extra oils and Cherie Soria’s Raw Food for Dummies event inspired me to step up my game in that area. While I have the capability to steam stove top too, this little guy uses less energy, is easy to clean, and has a neat multiple tray system for steaming larger meals. Tonight I loaded it with chopped super firm tofu, broccoli, and carrots.

And let it do it’s thing for 30 minutes while I figured out a good blender sauce recipe to go with the steamed mixture.

I figured that I was craving something creamy and hearty and threw together this simple hemp seed cheesy sauce in the blender.

 

The sauce has a thick and creamy texture with a warming color.

I drizzled it on my steamed mixture and topped with some Trader Joe’s Smokey Seasoning.

For a simple list of ingredients, the sauce has a lot of flavors – savory, tangy, rich, and silky. It was perfect paired with plain steamed veggies and tofu.