Vegan Corn Beef for the List

I hope you had a good St. Patrick’s Day. I actually remembered to wear my green No Meat Athlete tank to the gym yesterday which is rare. I also finished listening to this Zach Bush episode of the Rich Roll podcast which I highly recommend. It’s a bit over my head with science at times because Zach is a highly educated and driven research doctor who breaks chemicals and cancers down and Rich handles that nicely summarizing it for us non-scientists. Lots of fascinating information on agricultural practices fueling growing health epidemics and I’ll probably need to listen multiple times to take it all in. It’s inspired me to break out my fermentation crock this week to make fresh sauerkraut and start doing that more consistently. And set goals with my own garden this year.

It’s been a wild week here with lots of rain and storms, hail, snow in the mountains, and that’s all a good thing. But it’s also been stressful at work with nearly half our department out sick with some highly contagious flu-like bug. Many have been out of over a week with respiratory issues which is scary, keeping my fingers crossed. The weather has been frustrating poor Miko, getting out for regular walks has been an issue which I need to make up for today with a super long walk.

As usual, lots of salads this week and simple veggie stir fries – I’ve been a creature of habit which isn’t a bad thing.

And spicy Kung Pao Tofu lunch from Pho Vegan Asian Cuisine one day and spicy Thai tofu curry takeout Friday night.

Last night we had a bit of fun in the kitchen for St. Patrick’s Day trying this Corned “Beef” Seitan recipe.

This is only the second time I’ve ever made seitan which is crazy because it’s so easy and versatile with so many flavor options. And this recipe was perfect because we steamed all the veggies in the same pot with the seitan and served with stone ground mustard.

I was really impressed with this recipe and like that it gets a “beef” color from pureed kidney beans. I’m still dialing in my seitan cooking skills and would probably slice it thinner next time and maybe crisp the edges in a non-stick pan. But overall it was tasty and the leftovers will be great for sautes and salads during the week.

I was going to get out the door early for a long run this morning before this post, but that did not happen because it was cold, dark, and I was feeling like relaxing in bed a little longer. Now it’s warmed up a bit and the sun is shinning after days of rain and storms, so I’m glad I waited and didn’t rush myself after a busy week. Going for 8 miles this morning as I consider either running a 12k or half marathon next month. Have not decided yet and will end up registering last minute. But I’m getting back to setting running goals and getting into races after months of winter maintenance/exercise running and looking forward to it.

The List:

Eat less (or none!) meat for the environment.

Exercise to treat depression.

Tully over at VegansFirst has a lasagna recipe I need to try!

Why we’re more optimized for endurance running.

Vegan trial success story here.

Vegan documentaries to watch – still can’t bring myself to watch Earthlings.

Stephan Hawking was very concerned about climate change and we should be too.

Best new vegan products from ExpoWest – so exciting!

Running transformation success story to inspire you into the week ahead.

Exciting innovations in vegan pet food I’m all for.

Best vegan junk foods for occasional splurges.

Unexpected side effects of running.

This man has run everyday for 41 years, awesome.

I’m willing to plan a Disney trip just to try this. :-)