30 Day Experiment: Day 2

Well, as I wrote yesterday (and posted today) I have begun a 30 Day Experiment into eating a total vegan diet and exercising everyday. And so it has begun, the eating correctly and the running (hopefully correctly).

First, allow me to post a picture or two about what I’m eating. I’m not too terribly creative when it comes to cooking/preparing food, but there are a lot of great resources out there. Last night, I finished up a whole wheat Couscous salad I made with a curry dressing that is full of raw veggies (red-bell pepper, green onions, red cabbage, carrots and golden raisins) and added a veggie and hummus sandwich on whole wheat bread:

That pretty much filled me up for the night and gave my digestive system plenty to work on. Then this morning, I got up and had a nice almond butter and banana sandwich on toasted wheat bread. Absolutely delicious! AND, the great thing is I bought a giant jar of almond butter for $8 at Costco (Ingredients in almond butter: Dry Roasted Almonds)

This morning I went for a nice run. Well, instead of nice I would say difficult and painful. This is the first time I’ve run two days in a row…maybe ever! Plus, I’m developing blisters on my feet which doesn’t help. So I kept the pace nice and slow and ended up going 3.2 miles in 42 minutes, which isn’t great, but nothing I’ve done so far when it comes to running can be considered great. When I got home I had a nice drink of

Chia Fresca which is simply the super-food Chia seeds with water and a little lime or lemon juice. It definitely has a strange texture, but it’s high in energy and has you feeling pretty energized and good after a workout. I sometimes drink this before I go out running and I have plenty of stamina and I don’t get so easily winded. It’s pretty amazing stuff!

Please keep in mind, I’m a total amateur at all of this and if you have questions please feel free to ask, or check out the blogs and books I mentioned in my previous post 30 Day Experiment . If you want professional help on the trombone, I’m your guy! But for recipes, check out these great resources:

21-Day Vegan Kickstart: I get a lot of great recipes from this website and iPhone app. (Including the Couscous Salad above!)
Mark Bitman: Mark has an incredible app and book called “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian”. It is very useful as are his blogs and articles he writes for the NYTimes.
Jai-Lifestyle: This is the website/company owned and operated by Rich Roll (the author of “Finding Ultra”) and his wife Julie. Together they have put together a pretty extensive network of a Plant Based Whole Foods lifestyle. The Jai Seed eCookbook they have available on the site is very simple, beautiful and most importantly has delicious recipes!

I also check out blogs here on WordPress that feature vegetarian cooking including Becca’s Green Kitchen. But most importantly I’ve learned that the best way to stay healthy is to eat fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains that have not been processed. The further away the food we eat is from its natural state, the less we benefit from eating it.

Here’s to hoping my blisters heal up and tomorrow will be a fun day of running and eating fulfilling Plant Powered food!

(Oh, and please feel free to direct me to other great sites for vegetarian food and share your great recipes too!!)