Plant Strong: Day 23

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This salad topped off my 23rd day in my journey as a veganista.  Spinach, mixed greens, raspberries, peaches, artichokes, onion, sprouts, topped with a little blood orange balsamic vinaigrette.

I must admit, the 28 Day Plant Strong challenge has gotten more, well, challenging recently.  For the first few weeks, I was psyched- I love veggies and veggies love me!  My fridge was stocked and I pre-made my meals so making vegan choices was super easy.  But as I’ve gotten busier, my fridge has gotten emptier and making food seems so…time consuming.

But tonight’s stop at the grocery was my fruit and veggie revamp.  Lunch for tomorrow is already made, my (above pictured) salad was delish and I’m ready to rock.

Click here, here, here, or here to read more about my time with the Whole Foods Market Plant Strong Challenge.

A Cubs Game in 2 Parts

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Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates via the Infield- 5/28/11

Chicago Cubs vs Houston Astros via the Outfield- 6/1/11

Ryan and I went to the Cubs game on Saturday after the Soldier Field 10 Miler (we had 10 miles, a bloody mary and a soft pretzel under our belts by the 12pm first pitch- our transition between events was speedy!).  The day was overcast and a downpour began the second the game was over but our seats were covered so we were a-okay.

Cue 4 days and a 20 degree temperature spike later.  I stumbled upon won some tickets c/0 my Twitter prowess and Billy Dec so my friend Laura and I decided to play hooky and attend a weekday game.  Not a cloud in the sky, 80 degrees… aka the kind of day we’ve been dreaming about for the last 8 months.

Moral of the Story?  Infield or outfield, overcast or sunny, BF/GF high fives or girlfriend chattiness about everything (literally) under the sun, there’s really no wrong way to do a Cubs game.  I do declare both experiences I had in the last week to have been all kinds of awesome!

However, what’s it going to take for the Cubs to win a game???

 

Memorial Day: Slowing Down to Speed Up

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After doing big things in the gray and cold of Saturday (10 mile run and Cubs game), we were more than happy to have our Memorial Day be about little pleasures enjoyed in the Monday heat.  Aka, a walk that didn’t take us further than the Michigan Avenue DuSable Bridge.

Recently, I’ve fallen in love with the Adirondack chairs placed perfectly along the river- I can’t think of a better spot to read a book/stare at the buildings/boat and people watch.

Ryan and I have a big summer ahead of us; I know that when things get hectic, I’m going to think back to Memorial Day and the time we took to be still amidst the frenzy of a summered city.

A memorial day, indeed.

Goal Line Glory

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An hour and thirty-seven minutes later and I completed the Soldier Field 10 Miler by sprinting on to Soldier Field to cross the finish line at the 50 yard line.  Running through the tunnel onto the open field, people cheering and hearing the announcer say my name was one of the coolest experiences- short of being in the NFL, who gets to do that?!?  Goal Line Glory, indeed!

Not one to be left out of the action, Luna Bell experienced her own Goal Line Glory the second we got home by taking a nap on the new stadium blanket we received at the conclusion of the race.  Tough life that cat has.

Shoes By Color/Soldier Field 10-Miler Packet Pick Up

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While picking up our Solider Field 10-Miler race packets at Fleet Feet, I spotted this sign.  While I don’t entirely with this statement (color always plays a decent part in my running shoe selection process), if I was planning on buying shoes today strictly based on how obnoxiously awesome they were colored, I totally would have bought these:

A bit nervous for tomorrow (I haven’t been running anywhere near 10 miles recently) but getting my first race of the season under my belt and finishing on the 50-yard line of Soldier Field is going to be all sorts of awesome.  Ready to rock!

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“chicago: two respectably old school baseball teams, great, great bars, a tradition of unapproachably good and important music, its own, truly imposing style of architecture, an attitude both big city wise-ass and heartland lack of bullshit, a city open to the best and most excessive/creative of new, experimental cooking styles, loaded with great chefs (many of whom are pals), it’s simply another place i’ll use any excuse to visit.”

Anthony Bourdain (author, traveller, chef…aka, the man with my dream job)

(image via FYC)

Plant Strong Challenge: Cooking Without Oil

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On Tuesday, I was invited to attend a “Cooking Without Oil” class at Whole Foods Lincoln Park as a part of the Plant Strong Challenge I’m participating in.  Weeks 1 and 2 were all about eliminating meat and dairy from my diet and Week 3’s challenge was eliminating oil.

News flash: you don’t have to use oil to cook onions!  If a pan is hot enough to make drops of water “dance”, onions can be added and if stirred frequently, the onion’s own “sweat” creates enough lubrication to not stick to the plan.  This was mind boggling for me- it has never occurred to me to not heat EVOO in a pan and then throw in onion and garlic.

Next step: steam saute sweet potatoes.

Again, it has never occurred to me to do anything with a sweet potato other than bake it because it’s a raw potato and takes forever to cook, right?  Wrong.  Once the sliced garlic and onions were soft, diced sweet potatoes were added and with a few splashes of vegetable broth, the sweet potatoes were perfectly steamed and, well, sweet!

I recreated this meal at home the next night just to make sure it would be as delicious with me steering the boat pan.  Totally was!  At home, I made some wild rice and topped it with the sweet potato saute.  Ryan’s reaction?  “This tastes so…clean.”  What a concept, right?  That our food tastes clean?  This cooking without oil business is on to something!

(photos via Homemade Mothering, one of the fantastic bloggers taking on this challenge with me!)

Best Rooftop Bars in Chicago c/o Refinery 29

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Refinery29 has come out with a High and Mighty list of the best rooftop bars in Chicago.  It’s been warm for 3 days so far (unless you count that 50 degree downpour business this morning- in that case, reset the clock) and we’re already banking on boozing above ground level.  That’s just how Chicago rolls.

Definitely looking forward to checking a few of these out this summer!

Plant Strong Day 15: Berry Green Smoothie

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Last night was the “Cooking Without Oils” class at Whole Foods for the 28 Day Plant Strong Challenge (more on the class later).

Per usual, they gave me tons of great new recipes.  Including one for a Berry Green Smoothie.  I was cynical (spinach in a smoothie?! Seriously?) but omg, this is practically a high five in a blender.  Delicious!  So delicious!  I’m seriously floored.

1 1/2 Cups Soy or Almond Milk

1 1/2 Cups Packed Spinach

1 1/2 Cups Berries or Cherries

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend away!