Got Meat?

A few weeks ago, while driving through Lockport, IL, my wife asked if I would like to stop and get something to eat. I said sure! I’m always ready for a meal! The place we stopped at was The Vegan Cafe.

As we walked in, I said to her “hey, wait a minute, it says Vegan on the door.  Whats up with that?” She assured me that everything was going to be OK and that I would survive this ordeal. The menu looked normal. The water in the glass looked ok. The chairs, tables and pictures on the walls all looked as if we were in a real restaurant.  WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? The waiter approached and asked if I had any questions.  I stumbled. He then asked, was this my first time at the cafe? I said yes, and he proceeded to give me the low down.

This is a VEGAN restaurant, he said.  Nothing is cooked and, of course, there is no meat here!  I ordered the nachos as an appetizer and the loaded burger.  First of all, it was a lot of food! I should have ordered one or the other, not both. I did eat both, and they were both DELICIOUS! What was I thinking? How could I have avoided this food for all my life?  The owner came over and told me how the dishes were prepared and what they were made of.  I won’t repeat it all here, but suffice it to say, this is what I should be eating! Especially as a runner, especially as an Antiquated Runner! This is what is referred to as “Clean Eating”.

After this experience I tried to tell all my running (and most non-running) friends about it.  They all said the same thing: I didn’t know you were a vegan.  I don’t consider myself a vegan so I replied I’m not!  And that’s my point.  This is not the type of food I would eat every day but as an active person who watches what he puts in his body, this vegan food is right up my alley. With all the junk in food these days I’m always on the hunt for something good to eat, and that’s good for me.  I ask my friends – what’s in the food your eating?  SUGAR, fat, cholesterol, etc, etc. That’s the food your defending?  That’s what you’re eating and you wonder why you don’t feel good, or you put on a few pounds?  OR your performance isn’t what it used to be?  Maybe try a vegan meal.  You literally don’t have anything to loose. You never know…you might be telling people that you’ve gone VEGAN!