Patrick Post: Veg’n Out

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Tori @ In Love and Peanut Butter

There are always two different meals being cooked in our kitchen. Tori follows a vegan plant based diet and I… well, lets just say I do not. But, for the month of February, I’ve decided to try and follow a vegetarian diet.

I tried this last year for a week and it while it seemed to go pretty well, I wanted to give it another go for an extended amount of time. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy going into it. I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy and I love to cook. I especially love to grill, and a good burger is pretty much my favorite food. But I am leaving all that behind for an entire month.

There wasn’t one specific reason I was inspired to try this. I didn’t feel I got the true perspective of a vegetarian lifestyle in just a week last year. Everyone always says that once you stop eating meat you feel better, you feel “lighter” and cleaner and I want to see what everyone is talking about. Not to say that I necessarily feel “gross” or “heavy”.

So the day before I embarked on this quest, I stuffed myself with all of my favorite meat meals. I had Chick-fil-a for lunch and a burger for dinner with a side of marinated chicken breast.

Everyone thinks that Chick-fil-a will be my downfall but I will fight the urge and resist.

So on February 1st, I said goodbye to meat for an entire month. Tori and I did some grocery shopping to get some new meal ideas for me. I am going to try Veggie-burgers, lots of fruit and a heavy dose of salads to start.

Once I settle into the groove, I plan on trying new foods and cooking new meals but I wanted to stick with familiar food to get started.

Breakfast didn’t really change for me. I typically eat a bagel with peanut butter and a glass of milk.

Lunch can be pretty simple too with pasta and peppers, veggie sandwiches and smoothies.

Dinnertime is where I’ll need to get a little creative. I’ve made a mexi-wrap the past few nights, PB&J sandwiches with berries, a pesto panini, and salads. I’m excited to start cooking and eating new things, I just need to figure out what they are.

I’m pretty excited to try this new “diet”. There will definitely be a few challenges including getting enough protein for the amount of exercise I do. I’m also pretty sure Harvey is trying to sabotage me.

I have two races I will be traveling to and working between now and the end of the month so that could be interesting.

Overall, I think this is a great experiment and it will give me an insight on the challenges and joys of eating vegetarian. I plan to post once a week so check back to see how it goes. Wish me luck and happy eating!

-Patrick

PDQ Preview

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Tori @ In Love and Peanut Butter

This morning I met Meghan at Davis Island for the Tampa Sharks run. This is really my last week to get a long run in before the New York City Marathon if I want to have any sort of taper. Meghan is training for the Disney Marathon this January and agreed to join me.

We met the group at 5:30 at the Marjorie Park Marina. The weather was absolutely perfect this morning. It was actually a bit chilly out that early. The route is 9.6 miles and weaves all throughout Davis Island. The organizer puts out water and sports drink every few miles. He said there was about 80 of us out there this morning.

Meghan and I did 10 miles together through Davis Island. She joined me for 1 more mile on Bayshore before heading back. I was so grateful to have her there. Running with a buddy is always so much better. She also made me push my pace a little bit, which was greatly appreciated.

I continued on Bayshore for a few more miles. When I got to mile 14 I my knees were starting to be grumpy so I decided that would be a good place to turn around. I ran/walked the last 4 miles back to my car.

Including the run/walking, I finished 18 miles in 3 hours and 35 minutes. Not too bad considering my body is still very much recovering from Augusta 70.3. Now starts a taper after the shortest marathon training cycle in history.

After the run I came home and got ready for lunch.

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Caroline asking if I’d be interested in trying out PDQ. Patrick is a certified Chick-fil-a enthusiast and has been anxiously awaiting the opening, so I told Caroline we’d like to try it out.

A couple of days later, I got an email from their CMO inviting me and my family or friends to attend a training session and enjoy a complimentary meal. I got invitations for Patrick, myself and my parents.

Being vegan, I wasn’t really sure if they’d have anything I could eat there. I figured it’d be a good time to see if it was a place that could cater to our herbivore/carnivore situation.

The restaurant was packed but the line moved incredibly fast. It didn’t seem hectic and there were plenty of tables still open and clean. I was impressed. I spent 1 year of my life as the Restaurant Supervisor at the Vinoy. I’m pretty sure my head would have exploded if I’d walked in and seen that. However, everyone was super friendly and the management was walking around greeting guests.

Aren’t my parents the cutest?

One salad immediately caught my eye, the Grilled Chicken Salad was mixed greens, tomatos, candied almonds, craisins and blueberry-ginger vinaigrette. I love any and all things ginger. When I got to the cashier I asked if the dressing or toppings had any dairy in them. She pulled the allergen sheet from the side of her registered and confirmed there was no dairy in that salad. So I ordered the Grilled Chicken Salad… 86 the chicken.

My Parents each ordered a salad and Patrick got a chicken sandwich. The food came out insanely fast for the number of people that were there. It really couldn’t have been more than 5 minutes.

The Family’s food:

My Grilled Chicken-less Salad:

I was so impressed with this salad. Being a quick service restaurant I really wasn’t sure what to expect but, it was awesome. Just as I suspected, I loved the blueberry ginger dressing. My Dad got the same salad (with Chicken) and completely agreed. My Mom loved the fact that you can see them breading the chicken so you know it’s not frozen.

Patrick and my Mom also tried out the milkshakes. They both said they were “really good”.

I’m really glad we’ve found another restaurant close by that we can both enjoy. Patrick said he is especially glad to have a place to satiate his Sunday chicken sandwich cravings. Thanks for having us PDQ! We’ll definitely be back.

Have you tried PDQ? What was your experience?

My Vegan Anniversary

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Tori @ In Love and Peanut Butter

Today marks my 1-year vegan anniversary (you can read my vegan story here). I’ve been recently thinking a lot about what has changed since transitioning to a plant-based diet.

Here are the most significant changes I’ve noticed over the past year.

I feel better. Before adopting a vegan diet I had chronic digestive issues. I was in pain, often. The kind of pain that made it hard for me to stand up straight. That used to happen a few times a week. In the last 12 months I can really only remember a handful of times I had trouble. Last year, I was in and out of more doctors offices than I can remember. In the past 6 months, I haven’t seen any.

I have more energy. The biggest thing keeping me from making the transition sooner was that I feared I would lack the energy I needed to stay involved in endurance sports. That is absolutely false. I have more energy now than ever before. I even gave up soda and coffee in January and still find that I have an increased amount of energy throughout the day.

I learned to cook. It’s amazing, I don’t suck at cooking. I’m no gourmet chef, but I can put together a decent meal without a recipe. That’s something I could never do before.

I am no longer afraid of food. I never really nailed down a specific food that made me sick. I never found a pattern or direct link to anything that I was eating. This led me to being constantly worrying about the foods I ate. I would order the blandest thing I could find at restaurants and pack half my suitcase full of safe foods when traveling. It was never fun. I find myself once again trying new foods instead of constantly eliminating foods from my diet that I fear to be the “culprit”.

I’m still taking it one day at a time but for now, I am incredibly grateful I have found something that works for me. It was definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. So today, for my vegan anniversary, I’m celebrating my health.

While adopting a vegan diet was the best decision for me, it was an incredibly personal decision. I certainly don’t feel that vegan diet is right for everyone. I am not a RD or nutritionist and cannot speak to the health benefits for everyone, this is my experience.

Product Review: Vega Energizing Smoothie

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Tori @ In Love and Peanut Butter

I’ve tried several different soy and rice vegan protein powders in the past for post-workout shakes but have never found one that worked well for me. I was always turned off by the taste or the way they sat in my stomach. It just wasn’t something I’d ever been able to make part of my routine.

A few weeks ago Vega mentioned on Twitter that they were looking for bloggers to test and review their new plant-based Vega Energizing Smoothie. They describe the product as “a great On-the-Go smoothie options with two servings of veggies 10 g of complete, plant-based protein, 5 g of fiber and 1 g of Omega-3.”

I recently tried the Vega protein bars for the first time and really liked them. Of course, I was excited for the opportunity to try more of their products. I sent them an email and they offered to send me a complimentary sample to review.

A few days after I got in contact with them I received a variety pack of Vega Energizing Smoothies in the mail. The instructions are to mix one packet with water, juice or milk.

The first time I made it I tried the Vanilla Almondilla powder with 1 cup of original flavored Almond Milk. I mixed the two together in a blender bottle.

The Vega powder has a much earthier taste any of the others that I’d tried. No surprise there, it’s a plant-based powder with 2 full servings of vegetables. I really enjoyed it as a post-run shake because it wasn’t too heavy.

This morning after a 6-mile run I decided to spice it up a little. I made a PB&J Smoothie (big surprise, I know) using the Vega Bodacious Berry mix.

In the Blender:

1 pack of Berry Vega Energizing Smoothie
3 Large Strawberries
1 Cup of Almond Milk
2 TBSP PB2
6 Ice Cubes
Nutrition: 173 calories, 6g fat, 16g protein

This smoothie still had the earthy taste that I’ve really come to like with an awesome peanut butter and jelly kick.

I found Vega Energizing Smoothies easy to digest which is always my biggest problem with protein powders. Overall, I think Vega smoothie and I will get along very well.

Have you tried any of the Vega products? What did you think?