Air Fryer & Amazing Vegan Dinner for the List

Yuck on losing an hour with spring forward this weekend, it would be nice if this whole daylight savings thing just went away. I feel like I’ve lost more than an hour today, but did get in a decent run. Running is going better finally, the breathing issues are getting better and I’m considering getting serious about race training again for either a half or 12k next month, we’ll see! I live near large pasture farm fields that sometimes have cows, but mostly not and I haven’t figured out why. But on yesterday’s dog walk, there was a large group of cows ready to greet us at the fence. Miko was freaked out by them, but they were ready to visit us and more came to the fence as we stood there.

I hung out for a long time watching them and taking in what gentle and sweet beings they are that seemed very curious about us and social. I also felt sad seeing the cute, fuzzy calves in the group and knowing what their fate was. I’m thankful that’s something we no longer support, but wished more could see the ugliness of this industry and find compassion and better health by not supporting it.

Okay, to a happier place – we have a new kitchen toy! Hubby ordered a GoWISE 5.8QT Airwise Fryer that we’ve been playing with this week.

The first night he cooked carrot fries, vegan samosas, and onion rings for a very orange dinner.

Last night I tried cooking Gardein Fishless Filets in it for a use-it-up comfort dinner with sauteed veggies.

It cooked the filets a little faster than the conventional oven and I like that it warms up faster and does not generate as much heat as the oven, so it will be great for summer cooking. It dried the filets out a little because I’m not used to the cooking time yet, but they came out very crispy and delicious.

I’m looking forward to cooking more potatoes, squash, and other whole ingredients in it fast.

Friday night I got to go to a wonderful thank you dinner for the volunteers of VegFest at Pho Fresh. There was a group of about 15 of us and dishes were served family style from their huge vegan menu. It started with avocado asparagus rolls, mushroom pineapple soup (yes, that’s correct and it was delicious), a spicy mung bean noodle dish, and another delicious veggie noodle dish.

Then pineapple fried rice, vegan “pork” bun sliders, and veggie delight loaded with mushrooms, and colorful veggies.

Oh man, I was so full when I left, but everything was delicious! We stayed for hours chatting, I got to know a lot more passionate vegans and interestingly I was one of the younger attendees, there are a lot of retired vegans in the volunteer group that have become very passionate about better health while getting older and making VegFest a great event. One lady teaches a healthy whole foods plant based cooking class that is blowing up because Kaiser doctors refer patients to her which is awesome – I could totally see myself doing that in retirement.

Other simple eats this week included a tofu sweet potato saute with a spicy ginger hot sauce.

Salad with a simple hummus dressing.

And a hearty cabbage tofu oil free stir fry with tamari sauce and sriracha.

I’ve been going through a lot of cabbage lately with Miko helping, it’s one if his favorite treats. Our local Grocery Outlet has had a great price on organic cabbage the last few trips, so I load up since it’s great in stir fries, smoothies, and as dog treats that last awhile in the fridge.

And I’ve got more for this week’s list. I recently tried out The Rambling Runner podcast listening to the Ralph Peterson episode yesterday at the gym. And while it’s not a vegan podcast, I appreciated listening to an alternate view on fitness and dieting. Ralph struggled with out of control weight before hitting rock bottom and becoming his “own boss”. He had a lot of interesting views of diets that I didn’t agree with, like picking a fad diet and diving into it, but he made a great point on food choices and what difference does it make whether you have a greasy burger or a salad at the end of the meal. 10 minutes later you won’t be tasting either, but one choice will make a huge difference on how you feel. It shed light on being realistic on how much time we actually spend eating and is making bad choices worth it when it interferes badly in other areas of life and offers such a brief period of enjoyment.

Here’s an interesting study on how exercise strengthens our immune systems.

I never get tired of reading how veganism can help our hearts.

Or about pro athletes going vegan.

Ha, or inspirational health transformations.

Veganism continues to grow fast.

12 inspiring vegan women.

Vegan wine and cheese? Yes please!