30 days of vegan!

Today is day 30 of practicing a vegan diet.  Wow, that firs month has gone by so quickly.  I feel great, and I've had no cravings for meat, or eggs, or even cheese. The best part has been trying new recipes and new flavors of food.  
And, I've been able to find good substitutes for the foods I loved in the past, like hot dogs, milk shakes (I make soy smoothies now) and even pizza!


Oh, and my exercise is coming along pretty good too.  I hit 2.5 miles jogging on the treadmill tonight!  woo hoo!


My 2 month weigh in is coming up, so check back in a few weeks for updated pics and measurements!

So you want to be a vegan?

So you want to be a vegan? Most of you (all 4 of you who read this) would most likely say no way!  That doesn't mean you still can't make better decisions for your health.  I was craving wanted a hot dog, so I searched and found "Smart Dogs."  Hot dogs made with vegetable protein!  I was curious, so I pan fried them (sprayed with cooking spray) and gave them a try... an All American meal!

They look just like the real thing... how do they taste? They were great, I couldn't even really tell a difference between these and the traditional ones.  And there is quite a nutritional difference!


Smart Dogs:  45 calories per dog, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 8 grams protein, 1 gram fiber
Oscar Mayer Original Hot Dogs: 130 calories per dog, 12 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 35 mg cholesterol, 5 grams protein, 0 grams fiber


There you have it!  You can still eat the things you love, just find a healthier alternative!
If you have kids, I bet you could make this switch and they wouldn't even know! I dare you!

Black bean and butternut squash soup

One thing I really enjoy about my vegan endeavor is trying new recipes and flavors. I have always been a safety guy - finding something I like and rotating a few dishes over and over.
Here's one I made today, and I really enjoyed it.  I found the recipe on Sprouted Kitchen (click here).  It has great flavor, and was super easy to make.  I like beans, and wanted the extra protein, so I added an additional can of beans.  When I made it, I also doubled her recipe, and added some extra vegetable broth too.  You just have to play it by eye and see how it goes if you make it!  I topped it with home made corn tortilla strips, cilantro, and avocado slices.
Another great, flavorful vegan dish I'll add to my regular rotation!

2.0! Well, 2.02.

I was determined to get the 2 mile jog in today, so I could try to fit another one in next week before the end of January.  I slowed down the pace to a 12:45 mile, but I got the 2 miles in! The distance and endurance was more important today than the pace.  Now that I got that in, I can keep adding to it, and work on the time as I go.  Good way to end the week!

I have...Runners block

Ok, so I'm not even sure "runner's block" is a real term, but it sounds good in my head.  I have a goal to jog 2 continuous miles by the end of January, so I can stay on schedule for my 10k in June.  All I have to do is add 1 mile each month after that.  Sounds easy, right?
Well, I have tried twice this week to push the 2 miles.  I just can't get past 1.5 miles.  I should be happy and excited about that, right?  I mean, just 3 weeks ago I couldn't even do a quarter mile without stopping.  I need to find a way to break through this block.  I'm going to try again Friday night.  And if that doesn't work, I have 2 days off this weekend, then 2 more days next week to meet my goal.


Step up Brad!  Time to get it done!

Inspiration

So, part of my inspiration to get healthy and fit, besides me wanting to do it, was this last push by a video I saw online.  Ben Davis of Ben Does Life started jogging one day.  He kept jogging, and eventually lost 120 pounds.  You can see his video by clicking here. So anyway, after working on this for more than 3 weeks now, I wanted to order one of the shirts so I could wear it for the Bellin Run in June!  It came in the mail today!  Not a good pic, but here is is! Yay!

Back to it!

So I've had a cold for the last few days, and I had to take 4 days off from working out.  That felt terrible!  I wanted to start the week out on a good note today, so I decided to dress it up a bit.  It worked! I had a good day, and got back to the gym!  That felt great!  I did my back, biceps, abs, 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the bike.