Weekend List

So far it’s been a glorious long Valentine’s/President’s Day weekend with temps in the 70s and sunny weather. Granted, that fact that it’s so warm and sunny in February here is scary! But might as well enjoy it, right? Hubby has been surprising me with lots of fun little Valentine’s goodies like flowers.

And one huge one – a new Vitamix! Specifically the Professional Series 750 with a wider 64 oz. container that fits under our counter and has presets for purees, frozen desserts, and cleaning!

I’ve only just begun to dive into the manual, I have a lot of reading to do! I’m so excited about using it for the first time for today’s smoothie and trying the cleaning cycle! My primary container for the 5200 looks like it’s been through a war after 6 years of intense use despite us trying to scrub it regularly.

Friday night we celebrated Valentine’s Day early by going out to ASR Restaurant and Lounge where the vegan options weren’t shabby!

I started with the sweet and spicy curry fries and had the vegan quinoa cakes with black beans for the main dish. Both dishes were amazing, the fries were a party of sweet, crunchy, gooey, and had the perfect amount of curry to compliment the sweet sauce. And the quinoa cakes were delicious drenched in marinara sauce, pesto, and layered with a beautiful display of colorful fresh veggies.

Yesterday was a little busy as we ran to the gym in the morning, then out to the post office for a passport appointment. So we stopped at Baagan for lunch where I’ve been itching to try the new Prana spicy rice bowl. And it’s pretty awesome with a layer of rice, veggies, and avocado with spicy tomato broth and topped with cashew cream. It may be a little too spicy for some…

And last night we had a family gathering at my sister’s house were we had taco night. I assembled a huge taco salad with salsa, Daiya Pepperjack Shreds, and Lightlife Smart Mexican Style Vegan Grounds. Very good and very filling, whew!

I love reading news and trying to stay up with health and vegan news as well as geeky things like electric cars, so I’m trying a new thing of sharing articles that I really enjoyed each week.

Cheapism has a great article on Aging Well on a Shoestring. Obvious advice like eating well and exercise regularly, but some interesting new considerations for staying mentally sharp and having faith. I like the idea of volunteering more and wish I had more time with my work schedule, ugh!

HuffPost has a great article on Easing into a Vegan Diet by being flexible and creative in the kitchen.

In environment/geek news, Chevy announced that they will be producing the 200-mile range Bolt electric vehicle which is very exciting to me. I’ve been an EV driver for over 2 years (wow, time flies!) and my EV has an average range of 84 miles per charge with is more than adequate for my work commute. But a 200-mile range would open up a lot more possibilities like driving to San Francisco or wine country on one charge and make electric vehicles a solid option for a wider range of drivers.

Chic Vegan has a nice piece on Loving an Omnivore for mixed-diet couples that focuses on acceptance and doing what’s right for you and your relationship. Dietary paths are a personal journey for everyone and vegans need to be accepting of that too. I occasionally run into staunch vegans in meetup groups that aren’t accepting of anything less in friends and relationships, one even refused to visit family on Thanksgiving because it wasn’t a vegan Thanksgiving. I just can’t relate to that level of closing people out of your life especially when my family and friends have been very accepting of my diet.

Finally Matt Frazier at No Meat Athlete wrote a great article on balancing diet, fitness, family, and career and basically how it’s not easy at all, but doable while keeping certain priorities high in the list always.