So much for me complaining about hitting a plateau. This morning, I was 129.2 before the race and 128.0 afterward. I hope this trend continues and I see 127 soon. Regardless, I feel a bit better about it now.
The race went well this morning. I finished in 26:22.95 and my goal was to break 27 minutes. As you can all imagine, I am pretty pleased with this as well :)
The past few days have been quite busy. Monday, I worked all day, as usual. Tuesday, I did some Christmas shopping in the morning (can you believe I am almost finished!) and started cooking for a Thanksgiving catering job. My office manager, who is also a vegetarian, did not really know what to serve at her Thanksgiving and just needed some help in general. So, I made her a vegan shepherd's pie, one dozen vegan chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream, and a vegan pumpkin cheesecake with gingerbread crust. Everything came out amazing, thank goodness! I know it is a bit late, but perhaps you might want to use it in your holiday repertoire (those of you who need veggie-friendly holiday fare), but here is the recipe.
Vegan Shepherd's Pie
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Red potatoes
Mushrooms
One sweet onion
TVP (texturized vegetable protein - you can find it in most health-food stores, it is dry and you rehydrate it)
Vegetable stock or bouillon
Liquid smoke
Low-sodium soy sauce
Vegan margarine
Vegan cream cheese (optional)
Plain, unsweetened almond milk
Maple syrup (the real stuff!)
I don't really have the amounts, because I don't cook that way, my apologies.
First, peel and chop the carrots and sweet potatoes and get them boiling in salted water. Next, wash and chop the red potatoes (leave the skins on) and set those to boil in salted water. Rehydrate the TVP according to the directions (usually about 1 cup dry TVP to 1 cup liquid) using vegetable stock, a few splashes of soy sauce, liquid smoke, and a touch of maple syrup. Taste it once it is hydrated and see if you want to add any additional seasoning (like salt, pepper, paprika, etc). Chop the onions (I do thin slices) and start sautéing them in a bit of vegan margarine. You want to keep the heat on medium so they brown but not burn, once they start to caramelize, chop the mushrooms and add them. As they cook, you may need to add a touch more margarine. I also added a splash of vegetable stock at the end to deglaze the pan. Now your onions/mushrooms and TVP are done! Check those potatoes - once both pots are done, turn them off and drain the potatoes and sweet potato/carrots. Mash the sweet potatoes and carrots using a bit of almond milk, maple syrup and perhaps a touch of dried ginger. I usually puree them with an immersion blender to try and get most of the lumps out. The red potatoes, however, I only smash with a bit of almond milk, lots of black pepper, and a spoonful of vegan cream cheese (omit to keep the calorie count down). Once all of the layers are prepared, get a large baking dish (casserole or deep pie dish) and layer. I put the sweet potato puree on the bottom, onions/mushrooms next, TVP, and smashed potatoes on top. Then, I bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375°. Everything is already cooked, but it's nice to let the flavors meld and the top brown.
I will admit, I had a good sized helping of my shepherd's pie (I made another one for home) and three small glasses of wine. I hope I did not ruin my recent progress.
Thank you, everyone, for all of the extremely encouraging comments concerning both the sweater and the race today. I feel so blessed and thankful to be connected to such a sweet community of strong women. I know we all have your neuroses and areas of low self esteem, but we are here to support and show love for one another. You are all incredibly kind.
I feel a bit of a cold coming on (congestion and a headache - boo!) so I am off to comment all of the beautiful ladies who continue to show me such kindness before I fall asleep for the night.
