vegan veggie burgers, b/w indoor workouts, I wish I knew how to quit you

I really wanted to keep on reading Thrive Foods tonight, but after a day running around grocery shopping (when you're hanging posters for a living, not only do you need to hunt down the deals, but you know where all the deals are hiding), writing a poem for my writing group tomorrow, and getting some editing work done, I hadn't really gotten any physical activity in and was starting to get that restless leg feeling. Luckily, my gym is only 1.8 miles away so I threw the book in my bag and rode over (headlight is, indeed, broken, sad face). I had 50 minutes before they closed so I went for a nice slow jog for 45 minutes while I got schooled about just how devastating livestock farming is to the earth and our food sources, and how plant based diets are so much more ecologically and economically sound, on a global and national basis. Stuff I knew from being vegan (it's true, it kind of is all vegans talk about), but good to see it broken down into easy numbers and statistics which have been fact-checked 4 times over, rather than just what someone from the animal defense league tells you while she changes the tin foil in her window. A decent evening workout, but I was still restless, so I came home and made these veggie burgers, courtesy of another cookbook I reference often, Allen Lim's and Biju Thomas's Feed Zone Cookbook. Check out the recipe to see how nutrient-rich these are, using the pulp of the juice I made for E. before he headed off to band practice (carrots, beets, ginger, and one apple).

Here they are cooling on the rack before I put them in a storage container. I'll probably have to freeze them tomorrow, but I want to get a better feel for how the rest of our groceries are going to fill in the meals for the next few weeks.

Before going to the gym tonight, I tried to convince myself to just stay home and clean or watch tv, that I could go to the gym before my busy day started tomorrow, before people came over and before I had to leave. That I should try to get a handle on preparing food while I was motivated and not put it off until tomorrow (I'm making chilled carrot ginger soup for my friends tomorrow). But motivation stays with me if I'm driven, and if I'm enthusiastic about the projects. Not only did I make these burgers, but I also made yogurt for the week, and had a couple frozen margaritas that E. made. Eating well and staying in motion means having the energy to keep moving forward and stay positive. And isn't that just a simplified version of all we want in life? To just be able to keep going, get stuff done, and maintain some positivity? One day at a time.