I got the crazy idea somehow in November that it would be fun to give up animal products for a month or so. I believe strongly in the benefits of limiting consumption of meat and dairy, as well as basing my diet on fresh vegetables as much as possible. I absolutely love our CSA box from Eatwell Farms in Dixon, CA. (Granted, the eggs really make me weep tears of joy.)
Lately my diet has had too many carbs and meat and I can tell. I am often tired all day, stressed out at work, don't get to exercise as much, and it's much easier to go to Rotee or Yank Sing for lunch then to eat a healthy sandwich or salad. I need a reset.
Why vegan? I want the change to be dramatic--but, I don't want to measure out 1/8 cup servings or count calories. This will make it easier for me to focus on recipes, and not on rigidity and control. It's really an exploration of what is possible without relying on meat and dairy for satiation. In the past, I have built many of my meals around veggies without cheese.
Rigidity is actually the biggest bone I have to pick with veganism. When someone sets up a rigid, controlling approach to diet, she establishes barriers to the social, communal aspects of food that are particularly hard to overcome. Sharing meals with friends and family is important. It's great when hosts accommodate dietary restrictions (and I'm happy to do so), but I do not ever want to ask others to do this for me. I also wish more vegans could present tighter and more rational moral/ethical arguments for the diet they have chosen. Not eating honey because "it hurts the bees" (my sister's fave snark comment about a vegan ex of mine) just doesn't stand up against the labor issues for migrant farm workers that pick our nation's produce.
David is joining me in this experiment--more or less willingly, although he warns me he'll be hungry. Part of my challenge will be making sure this is as painless as possible.
I'm posting the menu calendar here for the month. See below!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Canyon running in La Verne
Every time David and I visit his parents in La Verne, we get at least a few good runs in. Their neighborhood abuts the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, which makes for some nice moderate hill running even on days when we only head out for 45 minutes or so (most days, to be honest.)
The standby run heads uphill and over a mile or so on a couple of residential streets, then back down Marshall Canyon. This canyon winds down from the hills, and the horse path along its bottom sees a lot of traffic from casual mountain bikers and (fewer) runners. It has a lot of mini dips, which are great to accelerate down then back up. David has run these for years, picturing himself as a character in Mario Bros. After rain, the bottom of the dips are opportunities to jump over the creek that holds enough water to make it easy to not. quite. make it. I'm working on getting up enough speed to leap over successfully, instead of picking my way across on the rocks.
This morning, we went up the next canyon north, San Dimas Canyon. The road is barely used, and heads up past the San Dimas Canyon Dam and Reservoir. Sometimes from 100 feet up, it feels like there isn't much more water in the Reservoir then in the tiny Marshall Canyon Creek. I don't have the memories of a higher water mark on those rocks, but seeing it through David's eyes tugs at my sense of nostalgia.
Uphill, it doesn't seem all that steep. We stick to the outside of the curve to avoid the few cars that may pass, mostly pickup trucks. I imagine the drivers to head out there to fish, somehow, even though that isn't permitted. We saw a man sitting in his parked car with binoculars this morning, pointed at the opposite side of the reservoir. Not sure what he may have been watching.
The turnaround is at the San Dimas Experimental Forest Area (?) where the BLM or some other such entity sets forest fires. The public cant gain access, but it does say permit required. One day we should figure out if we can get a permit.
On the way back, I practice accelerating as if I'm running a road race, using David as my competition (he probably doesn't notice.) There is one final, steep hill to get back up to the neighborhood--and that is where my form falls apart if I'm not in the greatest shape. It's less than half a mile, and it took me over three minutes to huff it today. We're going to do hill repeats there sometime this week, and I'd love to see that time drop.
The standby run heads uphill and over a mile or so on a couple of residential streets, then back down Marshall Canyon. This canyon winds down from the hills, and the horse path along its bottom sees a lot of traffic from casual mountain bikers and (fewer) runners. It has a lot of mini dips, which are great to accelerate down then back up. David has run these for years, picturing himself as a character in Mario Bros. After rain, the bottom of the dips are opportunities to jump over the creek that holds enough water to make it easy to not. quite. make it. I'm working on getting up enough speed to leap over successfully, instead of picking my way across on the rocks.
This morning, we went up the next canyon north, San Dimas Canyon. The road is barely used, and heads up past the San Dimas Canyon Dam and Reservoir. Sometimes from 100 feet up, it feels like there isn't much more water in the Reservoir then in the tiny Marshall Canyon Creek. I don't have the memories of a higher water mark on those rocks, but seeing it through David's eyes tugs at my sense of nostalgia.
Uphill, it doesn't seem all that steep. We stick to the outside of the curve to avoid the few cars that may pass, mostly pickup trucks. I imagine the drivers to head out there to fish, somehow, even though that isn't permitted. We saw a man sitting in his parked car with binoculars this morning, pointed at the opposite side of the reservoir. Not sure what he may have been watching.
The turnaround is at the San Dimas Experimental Forest Area (?) where the BLM or some other such entity sets forest fires. The public cant gain access, but it does say permit required. One day we should figure out if we can get a permit.
On the way back, I practice accelerating as if I'm running a road race, using David as my competition (he probably doesn't notice.) There is one final, steep hill to get back up to the neighborhood--and that is where my form falls apart if I'm not in the greatest shape. It's less than half a mile, and it took me over three minutes to huff it today. We're going to do hill repeats there sometime this week, and I'd love to see that time drop.
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