St. Patrick's Day Fun!!

I love, love, love holidays. All holidays. Big and small. And I tend to celebrate them all in some way. But St. Patrick's Day is, by far, one of my faves — Irish stuff (we've got a wee bit of Irish in our family), drinking, the color green. I go big on St. Paddy's Day.

As per tradition, I started the morning with a green smoothie after my quick speed-work run. This year, I went with a Mint Carob Chip Shamrock Smoothie — frozen banana, almond milk, baby spinach, fresh mint, vanilla & mint extracts, natural Vega One protein powder, and carob chips. Oh, and some homemade coconut whipped cream on top just because.

It's also tradition to spike my coffee on St. Pat's, even on work days! For the past few years, I've made the Vegan Irish Cream from Vegan Food Gifts (Jameson Irish whiskey, vegan creamer, coffee, sugar, and cocoa powder). I added a generous pour to my coffee this morning.

I bought this cute green beer dog treat (and this not-so-green teddy bear) at the vet last week. I treated the pups this morning so they could celebrate too!

I typically go to a lunchtime yoga class on Thursdays, and when I do, I have a hearty snack at my desk beforehand. Today, that was Toast with Marmite, Tahini, and Sprouts (cause they're green). More on this combo later. It's from a cookbook — V is for Vegan — that I'll be reviewing soon.

After yoga, I went back to work and heated up a bowl of the Irish Stew with Seitan & Potatoes from Appetite for Reduction. I make this recipe for St. Pat's every couple years, and I skipped last year, so it was time! Made a big batch last night so I could have it for lunch today. It's such a hearty, satisfying stew of homemade seitan, potatoes, carrots, and green beans in a base of stout beer and flour-thickened veggie broth. And yes, I served it in a green bowl because I'm a dork.

My friend Misti and I planned to do our first pub run tonight, so after work, I ate a very light dinner. I made a Veggie Wrap with Trader Joe's Muhammara (walnut-red pepper spread), black beans, white carrots, baby spinach, and kalamata olives on Trader Joe's whole wheat lavash bread. But I only ate half of it because I didn't want to be full before our run. Please note that this was stuffed with green spinach! Because green.

The pub run started at 6 p.m. at Breakaway Running, Midtown's running shop in Overton Square. Misti made us the cutest tulle tutus!!!

There were about 200 people there! I'm a slow, slow runner, and I planned to stay at the back of the pack. But Misti is much faster, and once we got going, I decided to keep pace with her. It was rough, but I made it to our first pub stop — Hammer & Ale — without dying. I had a Yazoo Daddy-O Pilsner there.

After our first beer, it was time to run to stop #2 — Memphis Made Brewing Co. Running after one beer is ideal. You feel much lighter and swifter on your feet. It didn't even feel like an effort. Here we are at Memphis Made. I went with their Pork Chop Stout (horrible name, delicious beer).

After that beer, running became a BREEZE. Seriously, we barely even felt like we exerted any effort in our run to stop #3 — Slider Inn. It was a few blocks away, but it felt like it was just next door. But after that heavy porter at Memphis Made, I needed something light. Misti did too. So we ordered PBRs. Classic.

By the time we arrived at Slider, we'd worked up quite an appetite. So we ordered some sliders and fries. Misti eats meat, so we did the mix 'n' match plate. She got a meat slider. I got the Vegan Triple B (beets, black beans, and brown rice), and we split a Nuts 'n' Berries (PB & strawberry jam) in half. Also, fries because we earned those.

After dinner, it was time for the last stop on the pub run — Zebra Lounge. It's a swanky piano bar near the running store. And by the time we made it there from Slider, we were pooped. But for the record, the run there was fabulous. We teamed up with a guy we found running by himself, and we had some great conversation on the way. Beer and running are pretty much perfect together. Once at Zebra, we ordered one last round — for me, a Suzy B Prohibition, and for Misti, a Miller Lite. 

Whew! Good times! We decided that running on beer is basically the best thing ever, and we're considering joining the local hash house harriers group! At the least, we plan to attempt the beer mile.