Cleaning up

I am going to be posting more about the foods I eat as well as the products I use when I train.  I think it will help me keep track of what is working for me and maybe even expose some people to a few of my favorite items (including vegan alternatives).  I am a big fan of Brendan Brazier, founder of Vega and author of Thrive The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life, as well as Thrive Fitness, and have used his recipes to make my own sports drinks, energy (pre-workout) puddings, recovery puddings, and even gels to consume during my long runs, all with great results.

My Hero!

I have teetered back and forth between being vegetarian, vegan, and gulp...a plain old fish eating heathen.  I am not a big fan of labeling myself but it does come in handy when booking a flight or going to a business meeting to be able to check the "Vegan" box to ensure I won't be served a nice steaming veal cutlet {insert retching sounds here}.  But it's hard to claim the vegan status when I sometimes don't care if there is a little bit of feta in my salad or I inhale a Honey Stinger Waffle {yum} at mile 14 of a 20 mile long run when my calves are spasming. 

So delicious...especially their 'waffles'.

Yes, lack of planning and lack of commitment leave me in quite a predicament...a fake vegan and I don't think "It's the thought that counts" really counts here.  What I really need to do is buckle down.  I KNOW how much better I feel when I eat clean...meaning a plant-based diet.  Eating fish makes me feel guilty later and eating dairy products usually leaves me feeling bloated and tired.

Not refreshing =(

My immediate goals will include cleaning up my eating, which currently means cutting out the Baked Lays {tear-drop}, saltine crackers, and any other processed foods (I don't each much of these).  I'll be getting back to the recipes I love from the books Thrive and The Engine 2 Diet.  A favorite blog for recipes is Peas and Thank You and I hope to add more as I try out new ones.  My only requirement is that the recipes be fairly quick and easy since I want to be able to share with friends how easy it can be to eat a plant-based diet.

Oh, and thanks to Twitter-dome (which I am still trying to figure out), I came across a great blog (Vegan and Raw) called Balance is Beauty.  I invite you to check out Kristin's wonderful blog and also to enter her giveaway featuring some great Vega samples AND Peggy Kotsopoulos's new book: Must Have Been Something I Ate.  Peggy is part of the Vega Team and I look forward to reading her book soon.