Vegan MoFo News!!!

Ah, September. Time to go back to school. Some of us look forward to the onset of Autumn, and cooler weather. Some look forward to football season, or new shows on TV. Personally, I love September, and not just because it is the birth month of my two favorite humans. September is also Vegan MoFo, a month long celebration of vegan food in the blogosphere! I've written Vegan MoFo posts in years past, but this year, I am an official Vegan MoFo blogger! (veganmofo.com)
So.... here's what that means. During September, I'll be posting almost daily blogs with lots of food pictures. I'm also reviewing some new vegan cookbooks, and I'll be more active on the facebook page www.facebook.com/zuzubeat and on my Instagram feed www.instagram/zuzubeat
In preparation for this onslaught of food pictures, I probably need to make sure my kitchen is super-clean... there's nothing worse than getting the perfect lighting for your avocado smoothie with the pile of mail in the background!
If you know a vegan, a vegetarian, or any otherwise , mindful eater, I'd be super pleased if you shared my posts!

PRESS ADVISORY  

August 28, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

VeganMoFo VIII: Vegan Month of Food, with hundreds of bloggers from around the world participating!  

The 8th Annual Vegan Month of Food (aka VeganMoFo) is ready to take the internet by storm! Starting September 1, 2014, several hundred bloggers and instagrammers from all around the globe will pledge to post about vegan food at least five days a week for the whole month of September. The most dedicated participants try to blog all 30 days. Food writers, bloggers, and home cooks will write about what they eat and what they cook, all with the intention of showing off the wide and delicious world of vegan food. Some participants use VeganMoFo as a motivation to tackle massive culinary projects, some choose a different theme for each day of the week, and still others take on the challenge of daily posts from the seat-of-their-pants!

This year, for the first time, VeganMoFo will be actively including the participation of the vibrant vegan community on Instagram – with the hashtag#veganmofo2014. If ever you have wondered about what vegans are eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – you will be amazed at the variety of meals and foods. There will be everything from summer produce, family dinners, green smoothies, mountains of cookies, waffles, and goji berries!

Local blogger Stephanie McCaslin is one of the Bloggers participating this year. Stephanie first began her blog, QUESTING ADVENTURES (www.questingadventures.blogspot.com) in 2012. Questing Adventures focuses on beautiful photography of home cooked meals, local restaurant reviews, vegan versions of old family recipes, thoughts on following a vegan diet, personal recipes, personal running & training reflections, reviews of books, and much more. 

Stephanie McCaslin is available for more information about VeganMoFo, recipes, photographs, or an interview.

An alphabetized list of all participating blogs and Instagram accounts will be posted online at the Vegan MoFo Headquarters International (http://www.veganmofo.com). There you will also find information about generating an RSS feed to help you keep track of all the food writing. Vegan MoFo can also be followed on Twitter.com @veganmofo.

VeganMoFo is a grassroots event that evolved from an international community of vegans who love to cook, and are passionate about sharing their love of vegan food with the rest of the world. First organized by famed vegan chef and cookbook author Isa Chandra Moskowitz (theppk.com), VeganMoFo has been gathering more and more enthusiasts each year. Anyone interested in food should definitely go online and check it out. And be prepared for a growling stomach!  

Plan Aug 25-31

Monday
Walk, Run, Abs, Arms
Buddah bowl

Tuesday
Walk, Abs, Yoga
Monster salad

Wednesday
Walk, Run, Abs, Arms
Chickpea tenders

Thursday
Walk, Abs, Yoga
Rice, veggie & Gardein bowl

Friday
Walk, Run, Abs, Arms
Buffalo chickn wrap

Saturday
Walk, Abs
Dinner Out

Sunday
Walk, Abs
TBD

Some relatively simple recipes this week, since I'll be pretty busy prepping for the start of classes!  I have a lot to do, but can complete everything I need to. So, easy recipes, and again, I'm attempting to deplete our freezer stockpile, which currently is frozen Gardein, Frozen veggies, and frozen fruit. I'll also be enjoying some fruit smoothies for breakfast!

My long run was missed last week, due to a combination of work and weather, so I'm hoping to get in about 12 miles this week. Last week, Cari and I did a Bhangra class, which I will make a regular thing if my schedule allows for it. It was like zumba, with Bollywood music!

I've completed 8 interviews! I'm hoping to get a few more scheduled soon, and if I can get all of my courses looking pretty this week, I hope to submit another draft of chapters 1&2 to my mentor. Right now, the whole thing is weighing in at about 40 pages, which isn't too shabby.

I wanted to read Son, the fourth book in the Giver quartet, but it had been a while since I'd read the first three, so I read all four this past week and enjoyed them. I love dystopian novels, however Son took an almost mystic twist that made me feel differently about the series.  I would have preferred them without it. I'm still listening to It, my commutes this past week have been quite short, so I'm only listening for a short while each day. I was very pleased to recognize a name- Dick Halloran (from the Shining, and Dr. Sleep) makes an appearance in It. When a familiar character pops up from another book, it is like seeing an old friend at the airport. It makes sense, but you never expect it! Today, I am reading Daniel Quinn's Dreamer.

Plan Aug 18-24

Monday
Run
Girl time with Mia
Takeout Chinese

Tuesday
Walk
More girl time with Mia
Mini nacho cups VCSS

Wednesday
Run
Dinner @ work meeting

Thursday
Walk
Bhagrah
Pizzagania TSV

Friday
Run
Kofta balls
http://mangeratrois.net/index.php/recipes/beans/1599-kofta-balls-with-indian-tomato-sauce

Saturday
Walk
Yoga
Buddah bowl 5IV

Sunday
Yoga
Leftovers

VCSS Vegan Cuts Summer Sampler
5IV 5 ingredient vegan
TSV The Sexy Vegan

Yeah, yeah. I know that some of these recipes look familiar, they are recycled from last week because I didn't get a chance to make them. This week I hope to be a little more organized about cooking.

That being said, though, it looks like it is going to be a pretty busy week! Mia and I have some adventures planned and some serious girl time acvounted for, as she leaves pretty soon for school. I am both really excited for her, and sad for me because I will miss her. I know she is going to be amazing.

The semester kicks off in a few weeks, so this week I also have meetings at work for pre-semester stuff. I also have 10+ miles of running scheduled for this week. I'm currently working towards that 42k goal in the next few weeks. So far, I've run 11.3 of my 26 mile total, so I'm looking good for completing that. This week I will also try out a Bhagrah class, which I will add to my fitness schedule in the fall depending on my academic course run.

The rest of my time will be devoted to more research. And interviews (hopefully) and transcribing interviews, and more research... this month is not allowing much time for pleasure reading, although I am listening to Stephen King's It in the car (shudder-creepy!) And reading The Giver Omnibus (I've previously read the first three, but wanted them fresh in my head to read the fourth).

Oh, speaking of The Giver, this was a question the other night at trivia:

Match the character's name to the novel.

Character:
Alex
Jonas
Buck
Julia

Novel:
The call of the wild
1984
A clockwork orange
The giver

I've read them all, so it took me about two seconds. Did you get it?

Plan August 11-17

Monday
Run 2
Hot and baba'ed pita pizza
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2014/02/hot-and-babad-pita-pizza-spicy-baba-ganoush.html

Tuesday
Yoga
Deconstructed falafel salad

Wednesday
Run 3
Vegan chorizo potato fritata
http://tryveg.com/breakfast#chorizofrittata

Thursday
Walk
Trivia/Mexican

Friday
Yoga
Mango, black bean & avocado salad
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/mango-avocado-and-black-bean-salad-lime-dressing

Saturday
Run 5
Vegan field trip/girls night out

Sunday
Yoga
Kofta balls
http://mangeratrois.net/index.php/recipes/beans/1599-kofta-balls-with-indian-tomato-sauce

Last week was so busy, I wasn't able to run as much as I wanted, or write as much as I wanted. But I did get more interviews done, and in the last two weeks, I've run more than a total of 15 miles.

This week, I've got more interviews scheduled,  and plan to run and yoga lots. My yoga studio is offering many $5 classes this week, and i want to try them all out! Meals this week are a hodge podge of recipes I've found interesting. I'll be eating light on evenings I go to yoga. Planning, also, on spending a lot of time with my girl before she leaves for college.

Reading this week, I put away In the name of the Rose, I just wasn't enjoying it. I'm instead rereading Extremely Loud and Incredibly close, and listening to King's It on audio. And more research reading. Always more of that.