Dr. Feel-Good-Neal Barnard

Sunday night I met one of my vegan crushes: the studly and knowledgeable Dr. Neal Barnard, that fella behind The 21-Day Vegan Kickstart and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (And Sexy Veganism). I made sure to don my Sunday Best for my visit with the doctor.

Dr. Barnard was speaking at USF about the benefits of plant-based nutrition, specifically its ability to potentially reverse diabetes. There was a pretty decent turn out, as well as some snackage from Whole Foods.




Soon it was time for Dr. Feel-Good-Neal to take the stage. Let me just say, that there are few finer things than a knowledgeable, educated, and attractive vegan man in a suit.

Dr. Barnard started out with sharing some of his past work and studies he's done with diabetics on a plant-based diet. He talked about the results of some of the participants in his studies, who not only lost weight and went off of their medications, but cured other ails increased their energy, and were just happier people in the end.


He also touched on food addictions, the government's involvement in food marketing and advertising, and how to begin a healthful diet. The only part of that last segment that I didn't like was his encouragement to use mock meats, which are overly processed and full of sodium and shouldn't be the focus of a plate or diet. However, he later explained that mock meats are great as "transition foods," which may be true, but I still felt like he put too much emphasis on them as part of a daily diet.

And of course, he mentioned the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program, which starts again in April. After hearing and reading a lot of mixed feedback on it in January, I'm curious to find out how the program will have changed, if at all, for this next session.


It seemed like just about everyone in the audience took something away from Dr. Barnard's talk. There were plenty of vegans and vegetarians in attendance, but also a lot of on-the-fencers and people who are driven more by science and research, rather than just that "hippie" feeling of compassion toward animals. Dr. Barnard definitely had everyone's attention and I wouldn't be surprised if several people in the audience that night turn vegan in the very near future. Also, I think he got some long-time vegetarians and vegans to really think about their diet and maybe improve upon it in some areas.

And then dessert was served! (All vegan, of course.)




And then I was sucked in to dessert and conversation with nice people and gushing about how stinkin' cute Dr. Barnard is, that I almost didn't get a chance to meet him! By the time I tracked him down, he already had his briefcase and was saying his goodbyes. I politely asked for a quick picture and wanted to comment on some things afterward, but several other people came up and I was lost in the shuffle.


Oh well. I liked his talk, and I was excited about the reaction of other people from his talk, too, and at least I snapped one (kind of lousy) picture of him. And there was dessert.

Recent Eats

Here are shots of some of this past week's eats.

Last weekend, I went to a vegan potluck at Vida de Cafe, a raw vegan restaurant, on St. Pete Beach. Unfortunately, it was already dark when I arrived, so I didn't get to scope out the beach views for my first time in the area. There was a fairly small turn-out, this being at the tail end of the holidays, but there were still some good eats to be had.



I brought chocolate rice pudding for dessert and, what do you know?, I forgot to take pictures of it, JUST like last time! Well, from what I could tell, it was a crowd pleaser.

I made this curry brown rice (gluten free!) couscous for dinner one night, along with some roasted asparagus.


It could've used more curry flavor (I love curry!), but this was still a nice, simple mix.


I used the leftover curry couscous to make the Confetti Couscous Salad from the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart meal plan. I added leftover tofu and asparagus to mine.


I stopped at Evos in downtown Tampa one day, which is supposed to be "healthy fast food." I was not impressed. For starters, it isn't the best place to go if you're sensitive to wheat, as most of the menu is made up of sandwiches and wraps. This leaves salads... expensive salads (my least favorite). I was pressed for time, so I grabbed a Mediterranean salad (no chicken, no feta) and a small portion of their "air baked fries" (when in Rome...), and flew out the door. Upon digging in to my salad 15 minutes later, I discovered that extra (vegan) ingredients were missing, and the fries were cold (yet disturbingly similar to deep-fried fries, which was weird). Thus, I do not recommend Evos, no matter how desperate you are. However, the meat-eating colleague who was with me really enjoyed the vegan chili.

There was one other restaurant I tried out for the first time last week, but that's coming up in another entry.

What were the best eats of your week?

New Year Foods & Thoughts

May the best days of your past be the worst days of your future.

Welcome to 2011, folks! Whether you're ready or not, the new year is here! Hopefully it's off to a joyous start for you so far.

I rang in the new year with a group of lovely local vegan pals. The night included fun conversation, vegan nibbles, sitting around a fire pit (complete with vegan s'mores!), and a very long and very late game of Taboo (which definitely gave me a second wind). It was certainly a different kind of New Year's Eve than what I'd been used to in the last several years, but change is the name of my game, especially in 2011.

I have no pictures from the party, but I do have pictures of breakfast this morning (which was around 2pm). I brought some gluten-free pancake mix and frozen blueberries and enjoyed the heck out of 'em! I can't remember the last time I had a pancake. (I'm a bad flipper, you see.) Luckily, there were better, more patient pancake flippers at the ready this morning.

I chose this Bob's Red Mill mix because it specifically said on the back that it would work well with "egg alternatives." I've had a disaster or two in the past with using vegan substitutions with gluten-free mixes, so I always check for this.




These were lovely little pancakes! They smell and taste a little like corn, but I didn't find it overpowering. Besides, pancakes are just a vehicle for good, natural maple syrup. That's the flavor I care more about, anyway.

I'm so proud of myself for making a black-eyed pea salad the day before. (This made dinner very easy as I was pretty groggy by then.) I'd always heard that eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day was good luck, but I just never got around to making anything with those cute little peas. I figure, with everything that has happened in the last year for me, and with everything on the horizon for me now, I could use all the good luck I can get! I served this with my favorite salad mix.

It worked for me!

I don't make "resolutions." Instead, I constantly add to my Life's To-Do List, which just gets longer and longer, believe me. As always, I hope to cross off several things from that list throughout the year. I hope to add another stamp to my passport. I intend to do some traveling, of course. I have plans to do plenty of traveling around the big ol' Sunshine State, specifically, since I'm living here now. There's so much of Florida that I have never really explored, so this goal excites me quite a bit. After 5 years land-locked in the midwest, I do resolve to spend more time by the water. I will get to know my new city and I am already helping out in my new community. I also have some big, fun projects in the works for 2011 that shall be unveiled in due time.

Also, since I've been chatting up PCRM's 21-Day Vegan Kickstart so much, I decided to sign up and actually do it, so I can give a first-hand opinion on the program. You can expect to read some thoughts and reviews on this in January.

Are you ready for the new year? What are your goals and intentions for 2011? Are you doing the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart?