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On April 11, 2012, I made my first blog post. I was inspired by words from a podcast.
Now, one year later, this blog continues to be an enjoyable endeavor. I appreciate every blog follower and visitor.
In this anniversary post, I’m still inspired by podcasts. What can I say…I listen to lots of them!
The following quote, from Vinnie Tortorich’s Angriest Trainer podcast, really sums up the FREEHEEL VEGAN lifestyle.
“Put life into living, and do it with enthusiasm!”
FREE YOUR HEELS…
Elisa at Mission Ridge
Elisa at Long’s Pass – May 2004
Can’t Telemark? Sucks to be you!
PLAY IN SNOW…
Eric at Mission Ridge – February 27, 2010
Mt Bachelor – December 26, 2009
LIVE LIFE…
Eric’s 1974 BMW – LIVE LIFE!
Eric in Kauai – May 24, 2008
Elisa at Lake Chelan Slidewaters – July 23, 2010
Elisa at Galbraith – August 27, 2011
BE SILLY & LAUGH…
Silly nephew – June 24, 2011
Silly niece – December 24, 2012
APPRECIATE THE “LITTLE” THINGS…
Wenatchee, WA – July 29, 2011
Bellatazza Coffee in Bend, OR – October 27, 2012
HANG OUT WITH A BUDDY…
Goats at New Moon Farm Goat Rescue & Sanctuary – April 16, 2010
Roosters at New Moon Farm Goat Rescue & Sanctuary – February 15, 2013
Eric makes a chicken friend in Kauai – May 8, 2011
LEND A HELPING HAND…
Member of the NMF Manure Management Team since Fall of 2008!
Eric gets some love from Opie while scooping the poop – March 19, 2010
LOVE SOMEONE…
Millie – December 5, 2011
Love them all. Eat plants!
FREE YOUR MIND. FREE THE ANIMALS…
Think about the animals. Don’t eat them!
“Put life into living and do it with enthusiasm!”
I love that quote and I love Vinnie’s podcast. But, I have a little more to add.
Yes- put living into your own life. But- also allow others to live their own lives.
To the fellow listeners and fans of the Angriest Trainer podcast:
Don’t be a “carnivorous vegan,” be an actual vegan. You can do NSNG (No Sugar No Grains) VEGAN style!
Adopt the FREEHEEL VEGAN lifestyle…and do it with enthusiasm!
November 3-4, 2012
Portland Road Trip to see The Lost Boys Live!
We drove south on I-5 from Seattle. At Longview, WA, we headed into Oregon via the Columbia River Highway (#30). It made the last hour of the trip less boring because we’d never taken that road before.
Lewis & Clark Bridge – Longview, WA
We checked into the Hotel Monaco in Downtown Portland. Thanks to my Visa card rewards program, the room was free 
Our room was a King Suite.
I really loved the decor of the bathroom.
From 5-6 pm, the hotel offers complimentary wine and beer tasting.
After that, we walked a few blocks to eat dinner at the Veggie Grill.
MAX Light Rail – Portland, OR
The Pioneer Courthouse – Portland, OR
The Veggie Grill is all vegan. There are multiple locations in California, Oregon and Washington.
508 SW Taylor ST
I ordered the All Hail Kale Salad because Mariann (from the Our Hen House podcast) keeps talking about how good it is. (She’s right!)
Marinated kale and red cabbage, corn salsa, quinoa, agave-roasted walnuts, ginger-papaya vinaigrette, with blackened chickin’.
Eric ordered the All-American Stack.
Grilled veggie-steak, pickles, lettuce, tomato, crispy onion rings, thousand island dressing.
Finally, we were off to the main event of the weekend:
We saw the closing night show of The Lost Boys – Live at the Ethos/Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. My sister’s friend Michael played the part of David.
Oh, MY– I didn’t expect to laugh soooo hard! My cheeks were sore before the middle of the show. Hysterical!
The director played the pelvic thrusting, sweaty sax player on closing night. (Each performance of that role was a cameo.)
Sam and the Frog Brothers
David, Star, and the Vampires on their “motorcycles”
The bridge scene.
Sam’s infamous “Bathtub Scene” with a (blurry) puppet Nanook
End of the closing show. The girl in the brown sweater played Lucy (the mom) and Star. Here is a good picture of Michael (the character.)
Check out “Grandpa” in the front row!
Look, if everything that Bad Reputation Productions does is this good, then I’ll definitely be back for a future show!
Before we left Portland on Sunday morning, we stopped for some espresso at Public Domain Coffee.
Public Domain Coffee – Portland, OR
Soy Latte at Public Domain Coffee
August-05-2012
Today was Seafair Sunday in Seattle, WA. The highlights of Seafair are the Navy’s Blue Angels Air Show and the hydroplane races on Lake Washington.
In 2010, we were on our way to the Washington coast and we noticed the Blue Angels at Boeing Field during a practice session. We stopped to watch for a while. It was intense to see and hear five jets take off at once!
It’s really unfortunate that Seafair– year after year– seems to be inextricably linked with the Oh Boy! Oberto company. Why?
I discovered on the Miss Madison Unlimited Hydroplane website that:
“The Obertos’ Seattle-based meat products business is the second oldest corporate sponsor in Unlimited racing.”
No wonder.
In case you didn’t know…The Oberto Sausage Company has been in the business of turning sentient animals– cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys– into “jerky,” “pepperoni,” and meat “sticks” since 1918.
Here’s something really interesting (if not at all surprising):
Apparently, the Oberto Sausage Company, in partnership with The National MS Society, Greater Washington Chapter, is also “making outstanding strides towards finding a cure for MS.”
How is a sausage company doing that?
In 2009, they were a corporate sponsor for a 2-day MS Society event “to find a cure for MS.” The company provided Oberto sausages to the 10,000 walkers for lunch.
????
Maybe it’s just me, but I find it beyond bizarre that anyone would consider it wise to feed anyone interested in any disease’s “cure” SAUSAGES for a fundraiser lunch.
Furthermore, with respect to Multiple Sclerosis specifically, there is ample evidence that a low-fat plant-based diet is an important factor in:
- preventing the onset of MS,
- decreasing symptom severity, and
- slowing the disease’s progression.
Read this excellent article by Dr. John McDougall for details and references.
I digress. Back to Seafair…
This post was supposed to be about the perpetual “meat pushing” that goes on in mainstream society. Seafair is a case in point: I can’t watch a simple boat race without being literally bombarded by the logo of a company that profits from unnecessarily exploiting and killing animals. (To be clear, they are only in business because people are willing to buy their products.)
Again, it seems beyond bizarre that vegans are the ones constantly being accused of “pushing” a certain kind of diet.
So, there I was watching the “Meatfair” television coverage and I noticed the Twitter feed along the bottom of the television screen. I decided to provide one of the few (if any) anti-meat messages on the television for viewers today:
Yes…GO VEGAN!
By the way– here’s that blueberry ice cream, from Lick It! (Contains blueberries, coconut milk, sugar, agave nectar, non-dairy milk and vanilla bean):
I stopped for a late lunch at the Living Well Bistro on my way home from visiting family in Oregon this past weekend. This is a relatively new addition to the vegan restaurant listings for Portland, Oregon on Happy Cow. The man at the counter said that the Bistro opened up about 8-9 months ago. I’m ecstatic that I discovered it. It’s located just inside the Adventist Medical Center.
As a health care provider who is constantly frustrated with the nutrient-poor food served in “typical” hospitals and nursing homes, I still can’t contain my enthusiasm about dining in a 100% Plant-Based restaurant inside a hospital. Pinch me! This gives me hope for the future of health care.
I looked on the Adventist Health website and found that the hospital also has a Garden Cafe, which “…embraces the Adventist position of practicing a vegetarian lifestyle to support the holistic nature of humankind. All food or beverages consumed should honor and glorify God and preserve the health of the body, mind and spirit.”
You can poke around this website to learn more about the Adventist Health Studies (AHS) at Loma Linda University. AHS are “long-term studies exploring the links between lifestyle, diet, and disease among Seventh-day Adventists.”
I found out that, of the 96,000 AHS-2 study participants…
- 8% are vegan
- 28% are lacto-ovo vegetarian
- 10% are pesco-vegetarian
- 6% are semi-vegetarian (eating meat/fish less than once per week)
- 48% are non-vegetarian.
So how do those numbers compare to the U.S. general public?
According to the 2011 Harris Interactive survey (conducted on behalf of the Vegetarian Resource Group)…
- 5% are vegetarian
- Half of the vegetarians are vegan (2 1/2%)
That’s quite a difference. Those numbers are WAY too low! No wonder that the Adventist Health studies provide so much information on the benefits of plant-based eating.
Now…let’s enter the Living Well Bistro…
The Living Well Bistro Menu features breakfast items, appetizers, soups, salads, whole grain bread, flax crackers, tacos, live pasta, naan pizzas (with Daiya vegan cheese), rice/quinoa bowls, wraps, desserts, smoothies, and other beverages: A vegan’s dream come true!
On one side of the Bistro is a display of kitchen items for purchase…
I smiled W-I-D-E when I saw all the vegan cookbooks on display!
Dr. Neal Barnard is a doctor you can trust with your precious health…
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s The Joy of Vegan Baking…
I ordered the Garden Veggie Wrap & Sesame Ginger dressing for the salad…
“A whole wheat tortilla filled with our sunflower pate, cucumbers, bell pepper, tomatoes, carrots and seasonal greens finished with a creamy dill dressing”
I grabbed a Banana Almond Smoothie for the road…
“Bananas, almond butter and dates blended in rice milk”
I couldn’t resist this crazy moist, melt-in-your-mouth Mint Brownie…
Just like the Terminator said…
“I’LL BE BACK.”
