New Smoothie Mix & Hydration Pack for the List

Hello and happy Sunday! It’s nice to relax a bit after getting out early on a 12 mile run this morning! But I need to find some more energy to take the pups for a walk soon, they are giving me the stink eye. Yesterday they were happy to share the fresh and warm blanket I pulled from the dryer.

Which reminds me that it will soon be cozy up in front of the fireplace weather, yes!

Friday night hubby and I stepped out to our favorite sushi place and told the chef to create 4 vegan sushi rolls of choice, we’re not picky. We got a beautiful plate of healthier sushi this time with a variety of veggies and sauces.

This place actually has no vegan sushi rolls on the menu, but it’s one of my favorite places to go because we get fun and unique surprises each time. Maybe if we go enough, they’ll add vegan options to the menu.

And I tried a new vegan smoothie mix this weekend thanks to my sister who picked up this Vegan Vanilla Protein Shake Mix at an Arbonne party for me.

It’s a very fine and smooth powder with a strong, sweet vanilla flavor. I like that it has a better nutrient profile than protein powder, but it also has more sugar.

I’ve been enjoying it during the weekends for a little extra energy boost before a long run or heading to the gym blended with frozen banana, kale, carrots, etc.

It’s nice to not need to add additional sweetener or flavoring.

Yesterday I made a huge salad with chickpeas, broccoli slaw, carrot ribbons with more lime avocado dressing because I’m addicted to that Trader Joe’s seasoning blend currently.

Simple and the leftovers made a great lunch today jazzed up with sprouts and nutritional yeast.

And last night I went with a pre-long run comfort combo for dinner – I simmered quinoa and lentils together with chopped onions, more yellow zucchini from our garden, miso paste, and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.

Not exciting, but delicious, hearty, and satisfying. For me quinoa and lentils are my go to for a pre-race or pre-long run dinner – energizing and satisfying while not causing any, uh, digestion problems the next morning which is very important.

And it did not fail me, I was able to get out at 7:30 am this morning for my final long run before the Urban Cow half marathon in two weeks. It was cool, peaceful, and beautiful and I’m glad I got out and got it done before the heat kicked in.

And I took the opportunity to try my new Nathan VaporAiress Race Vest with hydration pack.

It was daring trying it for the first time on a 12-mile run which worked out fine, but I might recommend trying it for shorter runs first to adjust to it. I am very picky about running hydration. I tried a couple of different types of waist hydration packs in the past and just could not get used to or stand the feeling of having a water bottle bouncing around my waist. I love my Nathan handheld water bottle and it’s been my go to for half marathons and training runs since I can refill it at park water fountains. But I treated myself to this vest for marathon training so I could just get lost exploring new areas on my long training runs without having to worry about finding a drinking fountain.

So far I love it, but it was a little adjustment getting used to having the weight on my back for this run and I maybe ran a little slower because of it. I didn’t fill the 2-liter water bladder all the way, just with about twice of what my handheld bottle holds to have enough for this run without over weighing myself down. This vest has a ton of handy little pockets and the pockets in the front are large enough to securely hold a smart phone and multiple energy gel packs.

The water bladder in the back is easy to remove, fill, and clean. I like that the entire top of the bladder opens to make it easy to fill with ice too. The drinking valve secures easily to the strap with a strong magnet that did not come loose at all during the run, but was very easy to grab while running. Most importantly is it really does not bounce while running which is awesome! Consider this for long training runs.

Okay, the list!

NPR explores if running is good for our health by looking at how it changes our heart.

And this article explores if running is bad for your knees.

This article discusses how being a vegetarian/vegan impacts running.

I’m great at making wishful lists of everything I want to do like complete nutrition certifications, read books, etc. But never seem to be able to make time for everything. Zen Habits tackles why this is and how to fix it.

Most of these misleading health “facts” are pretty obvious, but there are some surprises.

This vegan went from a junk food diet to being a whole foods runner.

Another great article from Chic Vegan for reducing plastic in your life.

Always a good thing to brush up knife skills.

Lea Michele discusses her healthy vegan lifestyle.

25 ways to pay it forward and spread positivity.

Mayim Bialik discusses body image in this fast read.

Finally, Dr. Greger discusses the issue of estrogen in animal products.