Weekend List w/ Lots of Eats

Good morning and happy long weekend! I’m enjoying a peaceful morning going through the list and drinking coffee while I motivate myself for a long run shortly. Yesterday was great, hubby and I had an energizing long workout at the gym and stayed home the rest of the day working on projects. The big project was reloading our big blogging/photography/gaming desktop computer with Windows 10 finally. I did the free upgrade from Windows 7 to 10 awhile back, but it developed an attitude since with odd software problems and blue screens because it was an old Windows 7 install in the first place with too much software. It needed a clean install of Windows 10 and we took the opportunity to upgrade some of the hard drives, so backing up all that data and settings was nerve racking. Thankfully things have and are still going smoothly!

And I logged a lot of my eats this week like this lunch feast with my mom.

Kale salad, steamed artichokes, watermelon, and popcorn with a tamari spritzer to keep it oil free.

There was also a large salad with organic greens and a simple dressing of hummus, tamari, apple cider vinegar, smokey seasoning, and water whisked in a bowl.

And another kale salad with hummus dressing, edamame, chickpeas, and nutritional yeast.

Lots of protein and very filling.

I also met my mom at Baagan for lunch where we had a huge veggie wrap, pina colada cashew “cheese” cake, spicy avocado nacho quesadilla, and banana soft serve topped with hot fudge.

Yeah, it was a Friday fun day and all delicious!

There was this hearty tempeh oil free stir fry too with carrot ribbons, tamari, sriracha, and smokey seasoning.

And a simple cauliflower cabbage lentil curry stew I threw together that was hearty and filling!

Last time I was at Trader Joe’s I impulsively grabbed a jar of vegan Curry Simmer Sauce and simmered a blend of chopped tempeh, carrots, onion, and zucchini in it.

It made a great, hearty post-gym dinner with a lot of flare. But whew, it was spicy with a really kicky ginger flare. Miko pouted in my lap because I wouldn’t share.

He didn’t understand that it was too spicy for cute little chihuahuas!

Hubby and I also headed to a local sushi place for dinner where the vegan options included veggie tempura, spicy edamame, and veggie udon noodle soup.

I love that these simple and filling vegan options are usually a lot cheaper all together than one non-vegan sushi roll!

Finally I had to use up a couple of eggplants from the garden and chopped them into a simple simmered curry stew with read lentils, quinoa, chopped onion, and chopped spinach.

I created the broth by blending water, miso paste, curry powder, fresh ginger, and fresh garlic in the Vitamix and it added a wonderful ginger and garlic kick that blended nicely. Hearty and loaded with protein and fiber. And Miko still pouted that he couldn’t have spicy curry and onions.

I’m still cranking up my miles on weekend long runs testing how much easier they get and if my recovery gets better too and so far so good. I’m starting to appreciate that rewarding burn towards the end of a long run reminding me that I’m building endurance … and a better butt. But still iffy on my current shoes, I was head-over-heels in love with my Brooks Glycerin 12s for long runs, but replaced them with the Glycerin 13s which still feel a little more cramped in the toe box area after two long runs. I may be trying to track down another pair of new 12s or on the search again for another new shoe. Blurg.

Anyway, to the list!

I love plant-based success stories and this woman’s transition reversing type 2 diabetes is very inspirational!

And so it this couples story of a successful health journey together!

No Meat Athlete has a great post this week on dealing with cravings and diet weaknesses.

One Green Planet gives us plenty of recipe inspiration for spiral sliced veggies.

And PopSugar has inspiration overload for pretty vegan work lunches.

Just another article on how going vegan is awesome for the planet too.

Here’s a great list of vegan make up brushes.

This edgy book on living vegan in a non-vegan world looks intriguing.

There is another Vegan Global Run coming up, go register!

Finally I’m a fan of electric cars and am ambitiously planning to keep my primary vehicle 100% electric. I’m amazed at how the options in electric cars and the charging networks have grown in just the last few years and could see both of our cars being 100% electric in the near future with the fast charging options exploding. So does Leilani Munter, a vegan electric-car racing enthusiast who was recently featured in Vegan Health & Fitness and will be speaking in LA for National Plug in Day.