My Veganaversary! Plus, Marathon Roadmap Weekend Recap

I always celebrate my veganaversary on Black Friday since I went vegetarian on that day in 1994 and vegan on that day in 2004. Of course, the date of Black Friday changes from year to year, but it's just easier for me to remember that way.

I'm doing this two-week No Meat Athlete Marathon Road Map meal plan to prep for my marathon next weekend, but I decided before I started it that I'd take off the meal plan on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Except I did start my Friday with a smoothie, as the plan calls for, to make sure I got a few nutrients in before another day of gluttony. I made the Everyday Double Berry Banana Smoothie from the No Meat Athlete Cookbook. This had banana, strawberry, blackberries, green leaf lettuce, flax seed, and walnuts.

I had that smoothie to tide me over before my big lunch. Every Black Friday begins with brunch at Brother Juniper's with my mom. She comes over to shop with me on Black Friday, and we fuel up with Tofu Scramble, Toast & Jam, and Home Fries. We've been doing this for YEARS. It's the perfect start my veganaversary, which, by the way, counts 13 years vegan/23 years vegetarian this year.

After brunch, we hit the Tanger Outlets mall to grab some Christmas gifts for ourselves and Paul and my dad. My mom headed back to Jonesboro, and I heated up a plate of Thanksgiving Leftovers! It may not be as pretty as the original plate, but I think the leftovers plate tastes even better.

I usually have Thanksgiving leftovers for DAYS, but this year, I was eager to get back on my meal plan. So I froze what was leftover after Friday night. After dinner on Friday, some friends and I went to Railgarten to see our favorite local aristocrunk group, Lord T & Eloise, and I had a few beers.

But on Saturday morning, I was right back on the plan with another Everyday Double Berry Banana Smoothie only with wheatgrass this time, hence the change in color. I had this before my 10-mile training run — my last long run before the marathon.

After my run, I had a quick protein shake with almond-cashew milk and Vibrant Health matcha chocolate creme protein powder.

Then it was time for my morning snack on the meal plan — a frozen Amy's Bean & Rice Burrito! Yes, that's right. My meal plan called for a frozen burrito, and who am I to argue with that??

Weirdly, the meal called for a very similar lunch of Rice & Beans with Salsa. I used a can of Trader Joe's salsa-style refried beans, brown rice, and mild salsa. It was pretty much like eating another burrito, but again, who am I to argue? You can never go wrong with rice and beans.

Afternoon snacks on the plan are always salads, and you get to build your own. Saturday's salad had green leaf lettuce, mandarin oranges, radish, baby carrots, sliced almonds, crunchy sprouts, and french vinaigrette.

And finally, Saturday's dinner! This was a super-impressive looking plate with a Grilled Portabella with Caramelized Shallots, Grilled Sprouted Grain Pita, & Spinach-Beet Salad. I loved this meal. Typically, I would eat a portabella on a bun, but it was more fun to eat steak-style. Plus, it had an awesome Dijon-worcestershire marinade that gave it a fancy flavor.

I opted to stay in Saturday night, which is rare. That's usually my going-out night, but we partied pretty hard the night before at Railgarten. So I watched the Walking Dead in my bed with Polaris, while Paul watched TV in the living room. I snacked on some coconut oil-popped Popcorn with Sea Salt. Polaris helped me eat it! Just kidding — I only let him have one bite, but he does love popcorn.

Sunday morning started with another smoothie. This time, I made a holiday-themed Cran-Apple Smoothie with frozen cranberries, apple, banana, flax seed, white beans, and ginger. Excited to finally use my vintage holiday glasses!

Morning snack today was a Sprout Sandwich — crunchy sprouts (my fave kind!), hummus, garlic spread, and lemon juice in a sprouted grain pita. I had this while cleaning the house.

Lunch on the plan was supposed to be leftovers of yesterday's portabella mushrooms. But since I'd skipped a meal on the plan over Thanksgiving, I wanted to try that recipes that I'd missed. So I decided to save my leftover 'bella mushroom for my afternoon salad and make the Seared Tofu & Broccoli for lunch. This was a simple and yummy dish of sauteed tofu, broccoli, and sesame seeds with a little soy sauce, served over rice. Easy to make, yummy to eat.

I used my portabella and leftover shallots for my afternoon salad, which I dressed with french vinaigrette. 

And dinner was an awesome dish of Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Chickpeas. I slow-roasted tomatoes with garlic and herbs and then tossed those with cooked chickpeas, spinach, tomato sauce, and whole wheat pasta. Definitely one of my fave meals on the plan so far!

Whew! What a yummy weekend! See y'all tomorrow.