Louisville Vegetarian Club to meet this Saturday

Hello friends!

For those of you in the Louisville-Southern Indiana area, just a heads up that the Louisville Vegetarian Club is going to hold our first meeting of 2011 this coming Saturday, January 29th at 1:00 at the Zen Tea House on Frankfort Avenue.

This club formed just about a year ago and we have already done so many things together including potlucks, dinners out, bakes sales, a holiday cookie exchange and the Walk For Farm Animals!

Photo courtesy of Louisville Vegetarian Club

On a personal note, I became a vegan in October 2009 for health reasons but through joining this group, I  have learned a lot about animal abuse issues, the environmental impact of the human diet and enjoyed even more health-related discussions.

I have also received a ton of support from like-minded people which has been such a blessing. Oh yeah, and I’ve also eaten more delicious food this past year than I can ever remember!

Check out the event on Facebook and RSVP if you are interested in joining us!

Also join the group 🙂

Related Articles

• 2010 Walk for Farm Animals (rivercityfitness.wordpress.com)

Guest post: Kim’s meatless year

Hello friends! While I am still gathering my thoughts and photos on what to post next for myself, please welcome my friend Kim! Kim is a foodie and blogger who has recently decided to go meat free for an entire year and document her journey in a new blog: Meatless 365

I know many of you who read my blog are vegetarian or vegan, but I just ask that you keep an open mind and respect another opinion that may be differing from yours. I know you will 🙂 Thanks!

Hi!  My name is Kim Davidson.  Sarah and I have been friends for about 2 years now and she has been such an encouragement to me.  I am a writer, cook, and photographer in Raleigh, NC. In addition to Meatless 365, I also post recipes, writings, and photos at my regular website, Kd316 and you can also follow my Tweets @kd316.

Sarah sent me a few questions to answer in this post, so here it goes!

1. What made you decide to go meatless?

Honestly, I woke up one day and said, “what would make people go meatless for a year?” and posed that question on social media forums.  Got a bunch of answers, but mostly: “for real? You gotta be kidding me!”  So, that really challenged me.  I said, “I can do this!”  And after that initial moment of pure will power, I knew it would be a challenge for me, a chance to spice up my kitchen, and get me excited about cooking and eating again.  Sometimes, you just get bored – even someone like me, who loves being in the kitchen!

2. What are you hoping to gain from going meatless for a year?

A new love for my kitchen and things that grow in the ground.  A new love for my kitchen: sometimes, even though I love meat, I get bored with the same things.  So, I want to try new healthy things and healthy foods in different ways.  And, things that grow in the ground: I don’t want to survive on processed foods for a year either (granola bars, etc).  I want to get natural foods in my body to help me feel and move better!  I know there are so many vitamins and minerals and other good “things” in foods that grow in the ground, so cool how God made things that would help us live better lives!  I also want to strengthen my food photography skills.  I would love to write for food magazines and use my photos to bring out the brilliant colors in vegetables and food.  There is beauty in food.  As Emerson said; “Beauty is God’s handwriting.”

3. Do you think at the end of 365 days, you will continue to abstain from meat?

I have already considered that; and I probably won’t.  But, I will eat meat a lot less than I do now (or did), but I don’t feel any food is BAD for you, but just eaten in moderation.  I will hopefully have found wonderful recipes to keep eating and trying new recipes in the years to come.  I like bbq, steak, and bacon too much to cut it out entirely for the rest of my life, and I don’t want to be kicked out of my family (my family loves meat!)

4. Has anyone asked you “but where will you get your protein?” yet?

One of the first questions I got.  Amazing, isn’t it?  Like there isn’t any protein other than meat.  I told this person, “why yes, I am!”  I love raw nuts, greens, legumes, cheese, dairy, nut butters, seafood, eggs.  So many ways to get healthy sources of real protein without going to meat or “fake meat”.

5. What do you think will be your biggest challenge in this experiment?

I love to cook for other people.  I think I will have to be creative when doing that and maybe even cook meat meals for them, which isn’t a problem.  Also, eating with my family.  My brother grills a good steak and we love bbq.  But, for this year, I’ll have to be prepared and have salmon when they have steak.  All those healthy fats and vitamins! 🙂

Any last words?

Happy food journey – whatever you eat.

Thanks, Kim! I look forward to following you on your journey and can’t wait to see what all you experience throughout. I hope you will do a follow-up for us at the end of the year!

Is anyone else out there going meat free this year? Want to write about it?

Why today is great

It’s true, I am one of those weird people who loves Mondays. To me, the beginning of the week is akin to a fresh start. It’s the start of a new week to focus on goals, accomplish tasks and get back to “regular life” after a busy weekend.

Since I am finding myself extra inspired on this particular Monday, I thought I would share with you how I already know today is a great day!

For starters, today is my best friend Courtney’s 31st birthday!

She’s gonna kill me for this one! 🙂

So happy we got to celebrate with her last night at a karaoke party! I’m no great singer but she has definitely inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and just have fun. One of the many reasons I am grateful to have her in my life 🙂

Speaking of parties, I had a rather indulgent weekend of birthday parties, baby showers, lots of cooking and no exercising. So much fun and totally worth it! And yet, when I got dressed this morning, I put on my smallest pair of pants and they still fit comfortably. Another reason that today is great! 🙂

Tonight, Josh and I are having dinner with friends whom we don’t get to spend enough time with these days. It is sure to be a rockin’ good time!

This picture is from 2007, that should tell us something, ha ha!

It will be great to catch up and fellowship with our friends over a nice meal. I will be making a very delicious spinach tomato & cucumber salad to take with us tonight. I just had to mention food since I declared this a food blog the other day, oops.

Lastly, it is quite possible that we are going to get snowed in at some point tomorrow. I am normally not a big fan of winter, but this year I have been learning how to take in all the seasons, not just the ones I prefer (read: every season BUT winter, ha).

It’s definitely an adjustment but it certainly makes the bitter cold and dark gloomy days more bearable. I’ve also caught myself observing the beauty of winter in nature and not just seeing the dead trees with no leaves.

Taken in our back yard

But just when I think I cannot take another freezing winter day, I remember that Spring and Summer will be here before we know it! Life is good 🙂

Now you tell me, why is today a great day for you?

A way to give back

Hello friends!

I have read that many of you hope to find ways to “give back” as part of your goals for this new year. Please consider purchasing Musselman’s applesauce in the month of January to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation! Every applesauce purchase sends 10 cents to the NBCF, which “is dedicated to raising awareness of breast cancer through education and by providing mammograms for those in need.”

Last year, I wrote this post about my sweet friend Erica and posted a video featuring Peggy Fleming who spoke about her breast cancer experience and explained how this campaign from Musselman’s is going to help the foundation. According to an email I received, this effort raised $85,000 for the NBCF last year!

All you have to do is buy Musselman’s Natural or Healthy Picks applesauce. The Natural is my favorite but I have tried all of the Healthy Picks line and they are tasty as well! Applesauce is a good way to get in a fruit serving and on a personal note, this makes more sense for me to buy than a bucket of chicken.

For more information, please visit: Musselman’s Supports the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Thanks!

2010: A year of running

Happy 2011 everyone!

I still have a lot to catch you all up on but for now, I thought I would reflect back on the past year, most of which I have spent running! There was a time when I thought I would never run regularly again, let alone in long distance races but I have proven myself wrong again. Oh, how I love to do that!

I did a lot of other fitness-related things in 2010 but it was definitely the year of running for me. As a matter of fact, in 2010, I ran…

• Nine 5k races!
• One 10k race
• One 10-miler
• Two half marathons
• My first 15k race
• A nighttime 3 mile race
• A 5-miler through Iroquois Park

There is nothing better to keep you motivated than to register for races. I tend to want to quit over the summer when it gets too hot and during the winter when temperatures fall below freezing and you have to wear 4 layers of clothing to stay warm. But having the races (and a great training partner) kept me going all year long!

There were times that I got discouraged and doubted myself. The mileage intimidated me as did my past finishing times. But after the 15k in September and especially the half marathon in October, I realized that I really can do whatever I set my mind to. I don’t have to be the fastest, I don’t have to beat my PR every time I go out there. I just need to have fun and enjoy the fact that I CAN RUN. And I can do so without soreness or injury. I am very blessed.

I am also happy to say that I have not slowed down at all. In fact, I started of the first day of 2011 with a 10 mile race! There are many more coming up this Spring, including the Triple Crown of Running and the Kentucky Derby Festival mini-Marathon that I have to look forward to. I do hope to beat my 5k PR sometime in 2011 but no pressure! And maybe, just maybe, I will go for a full marathon in the Fall. We shall see!

What fitness goals did you accomplish in 2010? What do you hope to do in 2011?

Blog. Read. Nap.

Thank you all so much for the support on yesterday’s post: Blogging in 2011. That just shows me how much I need to be here “talking” to you all!

However, there will be times when life is about more than food, such as setting goals for the new year. In addition to my desire to cook more in 2011, I have three other goals and I must make each one a priority this coming year (and beyond).

Blogging. I love to write and I have missed it terribly these past few months. I finally feel like I’m finally ready to make it a priority again but I’m not going to put pressure on myself like before. That’s just a means to an end! So I look forward to writing more here and over at River City Fitness in the coming year.

Reading. I think I read one book last year. One. I started a few others but then I came down with some form of ADD, so I would sit it aside and never go back to it. Maybe I’ve just been so distracted by life, the internet, etc. that I haven’t sat down to read a book in months. Either way, this must change! I have so many things I want to read, plus I would like to get back into a regular “routine” of reading the Bible as well. As for books, I hope to read 2 per month. One non-fiction and one novel.

Naps! I had to throw this one in here because I took more naps over my Christmas break from work than I ever have. They really do help! Usually, I wake up feeling refreshed and re-energized. And while my nap-taking will now be restricted to the weekends or days off because of work, I still hope to fit them in on a regular basis. Too bad we can’t have nap time at work 🙂

So that’s it for me! What are your goals for 2011?

Blogging in 2011

Happy New Year!

I’m sure many of you would agree that it is good to have a new year to make some positive changes and to refocus on our life goals that we are working toward. I did not make any resolutions per se, but I am hoping to move away from some things I have been indulging in and move toward a few that would make my life more enjoyable. Think: Less TV/internet, more reading! 🙂

I’m also sure you’ve noticed I have not been blogging much lately. Things got kind of crazy over the summer and I just reached a point where maintaining a “normal” blogging schedule just wasn’t possible for me, mentally. While I have done a few posts here and there, I had started to wonder if I even wanted to do this anymore and if so, why? Thankfully, I do want to come back but things are going to change.

As I stated in my “blog evolution” post back in October, I don’t want to talk about my weight as much anymore. I lost 70 lbs in 2007 and have been able to maintain most of that. I know the journey is different for everyone but for me, maintenance has been harder than the initial loss. I go up 10 lbs or so every year and then get it back down eventually. So while I am working toward keeping my weight “regular” and maybe even losing a bit more, I don’t feel the need to discuss that here.

Also, like many fellow food bloggers have stated recently, the “food journal” type of posting is just not working for me. It is a chore to write those type of posts and that is not how it should be. Also, taking pictures of Clif bar wrappers over and over again is just not my idea of fun these days! I also have to admit that I don’t like reading these super long, wordy (or picture heavy) posts much either (unless I love you, and you know who you are, ha ha).

What I do want to share are my cooking experiences. Losing weight and gradually evolving my diet helped me see food in a new way and cooking has become fun for me. I am NOT a chef and not even that great of a cook but I can follow a recipe like no one’s business. I just need practice and more experimenting with new methods and ingredients in order to improve. I’m hoping the blog (and another opportunity I’ve been given recently) will inspire me to keep at it!

I also want to keep reviewing Louisville restaurants (or others I visit out of town) and post product reviews when I try something new. I may occasionally talk about veganism too as I learn more and experience new things in that area of my life.

I’m not sure how often I will be posting but most likely just when I get inspired or have the time to report on a new recipe I tried, or a new restaurant or product. Hopefully I will be posting at least once a week, but we will just have to wait and see.

But this is a FOOD BLOG. Not a weight loss blog, not a food journal. No routine, no schedule. Just food. 🙂

Thanks for the support!