The "healtheir" gay vegans

REMINDER: I am not a registered dietitian. When I write about health I am writing about my own personal experiences which include success and non-successes.  For great vegan nutrition information please check out some of the blogs linked on our blog.

Mike and I went for a run yesterday. We are both in training. This year we did our first half marathon, as part of the Colfax Marathon here in Denver. Now we are training again, Mike for his first marathon and me for my second half marathon. My goal is to finish in 2:30, which would be 25 minutes faster than this year. We have until May of next year and are super excited.

Yesterday's run was wonderful for me. I train at Sloan's Lake which is a Denver city park about 1 1/2 miles from our house. It's beautiful. The path around the lake is just over 2.5 miles. Yesterday's run was the fastest pace I have done since I was a teen, at just under a 10 minute mile. Whew, what  a blast!

At 47, I am more and more grateful for the health benefits of being vegan. I became vegan as a way to do the least harm as I could while on this earth, which for me means not partaking in the cruelty that is inherent in eating meat, dairy, eggs, etc. This has been a 17-year journey for me.

Knowing that Pepsi and potato chips are vegan, it is not automatic that being vegan means being healthy. I know all about that. In my recent past I have really tried to pay more attention to what goes in my body and how I take care of myself.

I drink lots of water throughout the day. Most days I start with a smoothie filled with kale, Swiss chard, berries of some sort, coconut water and usually some vegan protein mix. Currently using a hemp protein, and also use the Vega proteins which are delish. I definitely make an effort to get as many serving of fruits and veggies throughout the day as possible.

I smile when I see our shopping cart these days. We still have some processed foods, but the majority of our cart is filled with organic veggies and fruit, both fresh and frozen.

My body definitely feels the difference when I focus on eating as healthy as possible.

With the healthier food choices, I also exercise a lot. The running is wonderful. Not only does it help me health wise and feeling better physically, it also helps with my self-esteem. I also try to get to the gym twice a week for swimming and lifting.

I feel better physically than I ever have. It's wonderful. Many, many thanks to so many of you who inspire me daily.

And thank you for reading!

VeganMofo Day 23: Tofu 101

This is Day 22 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is an introduction to tofu. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Tofu. Just mentioning tofu can get a negative reaction. I've heard just about all of the bad things that could be possibly brought up about tofu: terrible texture, no flavor, it's just gross, soy is bad for you, etc.

I love tofu.

Blackened is my favorite. Blackened tofu sandwiches are just about my favorite food.

In trying to eat as diverse a diet as possible, I don't eat tofu or soy everyday. That is more about diversity with my food choices than anything else.

Tofu is a great source of protein and can be a main dish or part of a delicious side dish. It can even be used for scrumptious desserts.

One thing to remember about tofu is that it doesn't really have a flavor; it takes on the flavor of whatever you put on it or marinate with it. When I blacken tofu for my sandwiches, plain, flavorless tofu all of sudden becomes filled with flavor because of the blackening spices I use to cook it. The same thing with barbecue tofu; it's all in the sauce. When I make tofu scramble, it's always more flavorful the next day because the tofu has had more time to absorb all of the spices used in the scramble.

Texture is easy. I mainly use extra firm tofu. If I want it more dense I freeze it.

If you want to try tofu without preparing it at home, check out food reviews of a local Thai or Chinese for tofu dishes and go try one. In Denver, Little Ollies serves a mean tofu, especially with their General Tao's tofu. This dish is not on the menu but they will make it for you.

Tofu can be as good and as delicious as you want it to be. Grab a recipe that uses tofu form one of the food blogs on our blog page. Try it. There is an amazing tofu dish for everyone!

Thanks for reading!
vegandude@msn.com