A First

You always remember your first...the anticipation, the nerves, making sure you have everything you need, wondering how you'll know the appropriate time to start taking clothes off... Yes, I'll always remember my first triathlon. What did you think I was talking about?

Today my son participated in his first rock climbing competition with his team from Rocksport in Queensbury, New York. For kids active in sports, it's probably just another game, but for a kid with an SPD, just showing up is a big deal. The crowded climbing gym and loud music are bigger challenges than the wall routes. Getting my son in the door was a small victory. I'm thankful that his first was at the familiar Rocksport and not at a strange climbing gym.

We started him climbing on the team because he loves to climb and the Occupational Therapist agreed that it provided the sensory stimulation he needed. He was really nervous about the competition, but he did okay. We didn't expect him to win (he didn't), but he climbed hard enough to wear skin off his fingers. All we asked him to do was try, and he did.

I hope you'll indulge me while I share too many pictures of my son climbing the walls. I'm a mom, after all.

Warming up in the bouldering room

First wall route of the evening

Topped it on his second try

More climbing

One move left to top it

Still climbing

Coming down is much easier

Determination?

Still climbing, even though he was tired

Smelly post-climbing-shoe feet

Be very thankful none of those packets bouncing around the internet carry smells, because the smell coming off those feet could wipe out a small town.

I don't know if he'll remember his first climbing competition with the same fondness I have for my first triathlon, but I'm very proud of him.

We celebrated by going to the Golden Corral, which would be my last choice except that it's a two-minute ride from the climbing gym and on the way home. I managed to put together a decent vegan meal at the buffet. I did cheat earlier when I shared a Snickers bar with my husband at the comp, but I'm still cheese-free.

One Week of Not-Quite Thriving

Salivary Stones (Ewww!) Image via Wikipedia

It's 60 degrees in early March in the Adirondacks! Yay! But it's pouring rain. Boo.

And that weather report sums up the last week quite nicely.

First off, I am happy to report that I have not eaten any cheese all week. As a matter of fact, I have stayed completely vegan except for one small little thing:  My favorite local bistro just reopened after a two-month winter break and didn't have any soy milk when I went in for a chai latte. I couldn't wait any longer for my chai fix, so I settled for skim milk. For the record, chai is better with soy milk.

The recipes in Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optiminal Performance in Sports and Life include a number of smoothies, which turned out to be handy when a sinus infection spread into my salivary glands and made swallowing difficult. I'd never known it was possible to get infected salivary glands, but at least they seemed free from stones. I'd never known salivary glands could get stones. I suppose I can look at the bright side and say that my cold turned into a learning experience. But I'd rather it just went away.

Saturday afternoon was warm (and rain-free) and I met a friend for a run. Yep, I ran outside. Heck, I actually ran, for the first time since mid-January. Although I was a bit sore on Sunday, I didn't regret any of the almost-four miles. We've got another running date this Saturday.

I've really been struggling energetically thanks to the cold and subsequent infection so all the amazing inspiration coming from the Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit is feeling a bit overwhelming at the moment. I'm finding myself holding back instead of jumping into the multitude of projects that I've been creating in my head, which is unlike me but also probably a good thing since I would most likely drop them all in a week anyway. Not that I need any more projects right now.

Remember the Adirondack Women's Empowerment Retreat? Anne and Beti put together a series of Saturday workshops to go deeper into the topics they covered at the retreat, which is very exciting and, I believe, the birth of something BIG! Yesterday I put together a website for them. It's still being edited and added to, but if you are interested in the Spring Empowerment Workshops you can get the dates and details and even register online with PayPal. Go to www.BonaFideButterflies.com and have a look. (Don't you love their name?)

I'm heading into the second week of the 30-day vegan challenge with only one small slip-up. I haven't missed cheese at all. But I would like a nap.

Thriving: Day 1

Cover via Amazon

After a fun food shopping trip during which I got to play for thirty minutes in the bulk natural food aisle in Hannaford, I had everything I needed to start following the meal plan in Brendan Brazier's book Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life. I had said I wasn't going to give up cheese, but after reading more of the book I decided I would try "cheese-free" for a week and see how I feel.

Besides, Amanda Brooks issued a 30-day vegan challenge on her blog Run To The Finish, and I can't pass up a challenge. 

Snow closed the kids' school today so I canceled my morning yoga classes. With the extra time I was able to prepare a bunch of quinoa and wild rice, make some energy bars and grind flax seed, which will make the next few days easier. 

The first day went really well. I was only hungry once, then I realized I had missed the afternoon snack and that was quickly remedied. I made Almond Flaxseed Burgers from the book for dinner and they were really good. Even my teenager daughter, whose vegetarian diet normally consists of french fries and things that come out of a box, liked them.

The only "failure" was zucchini chips. I couldn't get them crunchy. I have the same problem with kale chips, so I think it will just take some experimenting with my oven. They taste good, despite being a bit soggy.

I started the day on my bike - on the trainer, of course, because it was snowing. This marks my return to training after the seemingly endless string of illnesses. I'm glad that's over and I'm looking forward to the first 5K of the season, just 35 days away.

I came across another race that I might be adding to my race schedule, just because it looks like fun: the Glens Falls Urban Assault.

And while I've been working on diet and race season plans, I've been participating in the Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit. If you are a creative type who is self-employed, or hopes to be someday, and you haven't joined the summit, you should. It's free, and there's still a week to go. Each day there is a video with a different guest speaker and so far they have all been amazing. There is so much good business information plus lots of creative ways to deal with the mundane business stuff. It's really be helping me to see how other people manage their time; perhaps even more so than the marketing, legal and financial tidbits. The summit is hosted by Jennifer Lee of Artizen Coaching, author of Right-Brain Business Plan.

One cheese-free day in the bag!

Vegan, Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Oh my)

Maybe because my grandparents were wonderful bakers, or maybe because I spent my high school years working in a bakery, I love to bake. There's nothing like the smell that comes from the oven when cookies are baking, especially during the cold months. When I discovered that wheat gluten contributed to the aching in my joints I cried over the loss of baked goods. Luckily there are lots of gluten free recipes out there to try. I also have a problem with my cholesterol, so now my experiments are vegan as well as gluten free.

There is a bit of a learning curve, I'm finding. I've scoured a few attempts out of my baking pans before throwing the recipe away. (Wasting rather expensive gluten free flour kills me, but sometimes there is no choice.)

Today's experiment was a success! These vegan, gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies were so good I thought I'd share the recipe with you. I adapted the recipe from an oatmeal cookie recipe from Bob's Red Mill.

Vegan, Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup Earth Balance or other vegan margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup turbinado (raw) sugar
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed combined with 6 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla
1 1/2 cups gluten free all-purpose baking flour (I use Bob's Red Mill because that's what the local grocery store carries)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Xantham Gum
3 cups gluten free rolled oats
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips*

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat margarine and sugars together until smooth. Let flaxseed and water sit at least 1 minute, then add flaxseed mixture and vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl, blend flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and Xantham Gum. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and blend. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown on edges. Cool 1 minute before transferring to wire rack. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

* I use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, which do not have any dairy ingredients but are not "dairy-free" because they made in a facility where milk is present. If you have a sensitivity to dairy, look for a true dairy-free brand.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Party Food

This afternoon I hosted a Silpada jewelry party. I'm not quite sure how it happened. I haven't had a party in years, and I don't really know anyone in our new town except my yoga students. The Silpada rep's boys come to my kids yoga class sometimes, and one day "I think I'd like to have one of those parties" came out of my mouth. Next thing I knew it was on the calendar.

I ended up with my relatives and lots of my mom's friends on my guest list, but I came up with a decent amount of people. Once I put the list together, the rep did all the inviting and calling and whatnot. All I had to do was straighten up my house and make some party food.

I suppose I could have put out chips and cheese and crackers, but that goes totally against the nutritional changes I am trying to make. Yes, the ladies would have happily eaten chips while they sipped wine, but then it wouldn't be my party, would it? I decided to be true to myself and make food that I could eat and enjoy without feeling guilty.

It was just appetizers, so I figured I could take a chance and try some new things. If something came out awful, then I just wouldn't serve it. To meet all of our dietary restrictions, I've been cooking mostly vegan meals and one of my favorite sources for recipes is The Post Punk Kitchen.
There were some good appetizer recipes. I tried Hummus Amungus, Lentil Walnut Dip and Somewhere in Thyme Stuffed Mushrooms. The hummus was a bit too runny (I don't have a food processor and needed to add extra liquid to the blender to get it smooth) but tasted good. The Lentil Walnut Dip was too bland, probably because I forgot to put salt in it!

The mushrooms, however, were awesome. I used brown rice bread instead of the rye bread, but otherwise followed the recipe. There was one left after the party and my daughter ate it before I got to it. She's fast!

Nobody complained that there was no cheese and crackers, maybe because they were too busy looking at the gorgeous jewelry. (Except my mother, who came early to help me set up and actually offered to go get some cheese. Sigh.)

My friend Anne brought some fabulous bars made with chocolate chips, coconut and candied ginger, along with some other stuff. I've eaten five or six of them already. We decided they were healthy, so I am staying guilt-free.

If you'd like to check out the Silpada jewelry, here's the link. The party is still open if you see something you like.