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Eat & Run and the Allure of Vegan Living

I recently finished Scott Jurek’s new memoir, Eat & Run. I love reading memoirs, especially ones that center around sports or athleticism of some kind. Jurek is a renown ultrarunner (ie. running longer than a marathon distance, 26.2 miles). He’s won many events he’s entered such as the Western States 100, Badwater (135 miles through Death Valley), and the Hardrock 100. In his book, Jurek chronicles his adventures and passion with ultrarunning and the people that most influenced him on his journey to ultra-greatness.

What’s even more impressive than not only finishing, but winning all these races is that Jurek does it all on a plant-based, vegan, diet. No meat. No dairy. Nada. Wowee! Before Eat & Run, I read Finding Ultra about another ultrarunner named Rich Roll. He also competes at an elite level while basing his diet completely on plants. Both these men make compelling arguments for living a vegan lifestyle. They also both impressed upon their readers how simple and, more importantly, profoundly healthy it can be, Jurek even includes recipes at the end of each of his chapters. But when I see a pancake recipe that calls for seven (SEVEN!) different types of flour, I’m a little hesitant that this is the lifestyle for me.

I’m a vegetarian, so perhaps I’m a little unjustly judgmental here, but I’m not sure I could ever convert 100% to a vegan diet. While I don’t eat a ton of dairy I definitely eat enough of it that it would be a big change for me. As I read these books I contemplated making the switch, but at the end of the day between the time it would take to find and learn how to make non-diary meals, the hassle of not having as broad a menu selection when eating outside my home, and knowing that I buy 99% of my dairy at local or family owned farms, I don’t think it’s worth it to me. But that’s really the crux of it, while it’s not right for me I can see why people would chose to switch to vegan living and I give them props for taking the time and energy to live what many deem a healthier lifestyle.

Happy Running! 🙂

2012: 07/18
CATEGORY: Beyond Running
Books & Media
Fitness
Food
Healthy Living
Healthy Running
Outdoors
Running
Vegetarian
TAGS: Eat & Run
Finding Ultra
healthy living
Races
Rich Roll
Scott Jurek
ultrarunning
vegan
vegetarian
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Braving Brooklyn

The first time I set foot in Brooklyn was just this past spring when I did the Five Borough Bike Tour. I’d always heard great things about the NYC borough with its cultural treasures, cute shops and eclectic collection of peoples. Though my visit was brief, it left me wanting to go back to see what the fuss of Brooklyn was all about.

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I decided to kick off the three day weekend with a visit to Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Museum of Art participates in the Target sponsored “First Saturdays” where entry is free after 5pm and features a cash bar, music, and other special events. I’d been to a free Saturday event before at the MoMA and it’s wonderful. A community of people coming together to celebrate the arts and mingle with each other.

We decided to plan our day around the museum visit and headed into town early to walk around the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Fortunately, we had a perfect, sunny day to tour the gardens. We meandered through the Japanese Tea Gardens, past rosebushes and ornate fountains with other visitors of like mind. I snapped a bunch of great photos and got to see a huge sculpture made of living roots and vines that reminded me of something out of Star Wars.

After the gardens we ate lunch at a tasty vegan restaurant with a great ambiance called Dao Palate. Our meals were creative without being pretentious and I had the best ginger ale (made with real ginger) I’ve ever tasted. From there we journeyed north to hit up the Brooklyn Brewery to continue our quest to visit as many breweries around the globe that we can. As one of the first microbreweries in the states it became one of the forerunners in a growing trend of breweries around the country and remains as such today. We waded among the hipsters to snag a pint glass and jump on the last tour of the day. While the tour was one of the more interesting with stories of robberies and mafia and eccentric logo designers it was held in a cramped room packed to the gills with people who don’t appreciate personal space. Yikes!

By the time we crossed the brewery off our checklist and wandered around a bit (stumbling upon a hipster hive and barely escaping with our uncool lives), it was past five so we made our way back toward Prospect Heights and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Apparently first Saturdays are THE event and while we enjoyed our museum tour, we spent most of our time sitting outside on a low wall eating frozen yogurt and people watching. As the sun set, illuminating the sky in a brilliance of color and the lights of Brooklyn twinkled on, we both basked in the beauty of our lovely day in Brooklyn.

2011: 07/03
CATEGORY: Beer
Events
Food
Outdoors
Traveling
Vegetarian
TAGS: beer
botanical gardens
breweries
Brooklyn
museums
restaurants
vegan
vegetarian
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Scrumptious Pumpkin Chili

It’s that time of year; the days are getting colder and shorter and the air has the smell of snow and fireplaces. It’s a perfect time for another yummy recipe!

This recipe is vegan and oh-so delicious! I first read this recipe while I was on the wonderful blog – Gerbera Daisy Diaries. I was amazed at how easy it was to make. It blends the perfect combination of flavors into a great chili that goes perfectly with a big slice of cornbread. 🙂

Scrumptious Pumpkin Chili

1 cup bulgur wheat

2 tsp olive oil

1 cup each onion and red pepper chopped (I used green pepper as it tastes just as good and is less expensive)

1 pkg chili seasoning

2 1/2 cup water

1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes (diced tomatoes works just as well)

1 can (15oz) pumpkin (surprisingly, I couldn’t taste the pumpkin in the finished product, so I’ll probably add more next time)

1 medium zucchini, shredded (I opted out of the zucchini as it’s not my fav veggie)

1 can (15.5oz) black beans (I buy these dried and make as needed – cheaper and healthier, although it takes more time)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup frozen corn

1. Prepare bulgur according to directions on package.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a nonstick skillet. Add onion and pepper and saute for five minutes. Add chili seasoning, saute until fragrant.

3. Add water, tomatoes, pumpkin and zucchini and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer ten minutes, stirring occasionally, under veggies are tender.

4. Stir in bulgur, beans and corn, heat through. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

Serve and enjoy! 🙂