Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Speed Work and Product Reviews

Last night was our first speed workout at the track. I was still feeling sore from Sunday, so I thought I might take it easy. I don't need to be getting injured. We did 400 metre repeats with a 200 metre rest in between and then finished off with two two hundred metre repeats. Here's how they went:

1st 400 - 2:07
2nd 400 - 2:08
3rd 400 - 2:15
4th 400 - 2:09
5th 400 - 2:04
1st 200 - 1:02
2nd 200 - 0:57

Not great, but I don't hurt too bad this morning. My shins even feel a little better.

So now, on to the product reviews.

Amy's Roasted Vegetable Pizza
All I can say is yum! It's not really large enough to share with a hungry hubby, so I had it all to myself. The sauce is made from caramelized onions. It's sweet and not tomatoey at all. Very different and I loved it. I had half before leaving for the track and ate the rest as my post workout meal. This is definitely something I'd like to have in my freezer for emergency meals.

So Nice Strawberry Soy Yogurt
Another winner. This was my first time buying soy yogurt and I will definitely buy it again. It tastes somewhat like real yogurt, and the calories and nutrients are similar to the real thing. It is quite a bit thinner than cow's milk yogurt, but I don't mind the consistency.

Tofutti Milk Free American Flavored Slices
These are the soy version of "Kraft Singles". I haven't eaten a slice on it's own, but it's good on a sandwich. I'll keep these in the house.

Tofurky Italian Deli Slices
This was the main reason for the field trip to the Superstore on the weekend. On their own, the taste is just so-so. But I've been making sandwiches with the Tofurky slices, the Tofutti American flavoured slices, Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise, French's Bold 'n Spicy Deli Mustard, and some lettuce and tomato. Let me tell you, these are really good sandwiches. It's worth the drive to St. Thomas for these slices.

President's Choice Meatless Beef Strips
Maybe it's just that I remember what real beef tastes like, but I wasn't crazy about these. I veganized a stew recipe on the weekend, and while everything else in the recipe tasted great, the fake meat just took something away from it. I doubt if I'll buy these again.

So those are just a few of the vegan products I've been lucky enough to get my hands on. It's taken some research to find these since the area I live in isn't very vegan friendly. I know there will be hits and misses, but so far, I'm pretty happy with my findings.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Boston Breakfast Club

Training for the Boston Marathon started on Thursday and today was our first long run. The people going to Boston meet at 7:00 am and do 4 miles before meeting up with the rest of the group at 8:00 am. As I am an official member of the Boston Breakfast Club, I was there right on time. Coach Johnny Rotten gave us the route and told us to take it nice and easy. Yeah right. I started out okay, but just over half way, everyone else in the group had passed me. I was the last one to finish. I had to keep reminding myself that I have as much right as everyone else to be in this group. I qualified for Boston and I'm going to enjoy the whole experience.

We were supposed to run a minimum of 10 miles with the group, but since I haven't been doing much running lately, I did 8, for a total of 12 miles. It was plenty. My legs were ready to give out by the time we finished. It turned out to be a really good run. The rain stopped before we went out, and the temperature was above freezing. What more can you hope for when it's January in Canada?

Shopping

Look what I scored at the Superstore yesterday. I went online to see where I could buy Tofurkey products and found out the Superstore in St. Thomas carries them, so hubby and I went on a field trip. I'm going to check in London, probably next week, to see if the Superstores here carry them, but it's really not that far to drive to St. Thomas.

I was a little disappointed when we first got in to the store because I was finding the same old Yves Veggie and President's Choice products that I can get in any Loblaws. But then we found the natural foods aisle. Wow! I was so excited to see soy yogurt. I tried the peach flavour as soon as we got home and had a Tofurkey sandwich for lunch. It's okay, but Yves Veggie Salami is still my favourite. I can hardly wait to try the Earth Island "Mozzarella." It's vegan and the label says it melts!

We needed the wine for a stew recipe I was trying for dinner, and no, it was not in the natural foods aisle, and it's probably not vegan. We're working on that, though. Hubby is making two batches of wine and he promised he won't filter them with isinglass.

After lunch, I went to Chapters to check on the price of some vegan cookbooks I'd like to buy. Their prices are better if you buy off their website, so I'll be ordering them online. I've had two of Sarah Kramer's books as well as Vegan with a Vengeance out of the library for some time now. I keep renewing them, but I'm sure the library will want them back eventually. I haven't tried a lot of recipes from them, but Isa's cookies are really good, and Sarah's soups are some of the best I have ever had in my life. Even my omnivore hubby loves them.

Gotta go and get ready for my 14 mile run in the rain, so I'll check in later.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Posting My First Recipe




This is what I've been eating for lunch the last few days. I don't know where the recipe originated, but I tweaked it a bit, so I'll call it mine. It's called Bean Sandwich Spread, but it can be used as a dip for taco chips, or a spread for pita wedges.


Bean Sandwich Spread
1 cup cooked kidney beans (rinsed and drained if using canned)
1/2 cup celery
1/4 cup onion
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1-2 tbsp. Vegenaise
Pulse all ingredients in the food processor and enjoy!

















Here it is in a wrap with lettuce, tomatoes and onion:











Tuesday, January 01, 2008

A New Year, A New Blog?

I was going to abandon this blog since I haven't updated it since last April, but then I decided I would use it to chronicle my journey to veganism in 2008.

It will still be a blog about my life in general, but with an emphasis on food and, since I'm training for the Boston Marathon this coming April, I'll report on my training progress as well.

My New Year's resolution is to blog at least 3 times a week, and if I do that, I'll treat myself at the end of each month.

Stay tuned as I will be doing some posts that will catch everyone up on what I've been doing since last spring.