Gluten Free : Day 2 & 3 Adventures

It has been some journey this past 3 days. I have enjoyed every minute of eating gluten free and vegan. I have felt some things change like when I eat now I don't feel like I'm stuffed. I'm eating just enough food to keep me happy and I have been able to eat more raw foods which has been great. On Day 2 I started my day with a walk in Prospect Park with my friend Maritsa and her lovely dog Sadie. The weather was not the best but it was a great way to start my Sunday morning. We walked for about a hour and then head over to Sun and Bloom for some food. I ordered the Kale Salad and Maritsa and the tofu scramble. I will post photos of all of the wonderful food. I'm learning so much about my body and eating. Even though I have been vegan for almost 7 years I still always sit and think of better ways to eat and keep my body going. I have been running more lately and now I'm taking a B12 & Flax Seed Oil in the morning to start my day. Sometimes we think that eating processed vegan food is super healthy and I have to say that most fatty and greasy vegan food does not agree with my body. This journey all begin because my partner is trying to eat healthier and eat more veggies. He is not vegan/vegetarian but is taking time to think about food differently. He encouraged me to do this since I have been thinking about doing it for so long. I feel great and I'm looking forward to the next few days. Now I took the time last night to make a kale, collard and avocado salad with quinoa. It was amazing and fresh. I have been enjoying the eating more greens process of this gluten free business. When it comes to Day 3 I had a tasty Gluten Free Tofu Scramble wrap from Terri's in the Financial District. It was amazing and I really did enjoy ever bit. Tomorrow I'm planning to cook something delicious and no take out.

Gluten Free : Day One

Well it has been awhile since I have blogged. But I have taken on the challenge of going gluten free. It has been a great experience as this is day one. I'm amazed how well I feel at this moment and the process that it took to get here. For so long I have been thinking about trying to stop eat gluten and see what the impact would be on my health wise and would I feel a difference ? I can say right now its been a great experience for Day One. I decided that I would cut out all gluten, wheat, processed junk and eat mostly fruit, veggies and green juices. Today I had a green juice from Sun in Bloom in Brooklyn, NY and that was a great way to start the day after coming back from Pittsburgh. Then after getting my green juice I made my way to the Whole Foods in Tribeca which I love going to when I'm in the city for the summer or for any long period of time. I brought fresh fruit, nuts, kale chips (raw) and other great things to begin this journey. It was nice to know that I could eat good tasting food during this process. Being gluten free can be hard and at the same time I'm trying to enjoy the foods that are gluten free. After my nice long trip to Whole Foods I went back to Brooklyn to eat at MOB which is all vegan and yummy. I had the gluten free grits and veggie links with kale. It was great to eat a whole meal knowing that I did not feel weighed down. It was amazing and I can't wait to go back for another meal. I thought to myself after having lunch that I didn't feel like cooking so I went over to Sun and Bloom again and brought collard green rolls with a Zen Citrus Juice for dinner. After my 2 mile run today because it was so hot I came back to eat dinner and I found the rolls kind of unreal and I added some avocado to it to make it even better. I think that today was great and I plan on eating most of my meals at home tomorrow if I can help it. This does not have to be expensive and time consuming. I'm here in NY for the month before I love to PA and I wanted to eat at all of my favorite places. So looking forward tomorrow morning with a run and nice bowl of fruit to begin the day. I decided to do this because I wanted to be more on top of what I did put into my body. I'm staying away from greasy and high fat foods unless its plant based and not processed. Consider this journey for yourself and I'm sure you will fill amazing. Everyone's body goes through different experiences and I have to say I'm adjusting well because I'm already vegan. But I encourage you to think about eating plant based and see what that can do for you. Looking forward to any feedback and I will be back about day two.

New Journey & Updates

It has been awhile since I have taken the time to write a post because life is just keeping me super busy. But I have made a commitment to cooking more and enjoying the kitchen since I moved outside of Boston to a town called Weston. I have been enjoying my new job and the great community of people. But my passion for cooking has been put on the back burner often since I graduated from college in the May 2011. So much has changed in my life. I'm working at a boarding school, adopted a dog and really have been using the kitchen more often. The dog is Scooter and he has been a joy to have in our home. The new addition of Scooter has really encouraged me to start cooking more because it puts be in a special place which I have been missing for sometime. Today I made Coffee Chip Muffins out of Vegan Brunch and they turned out very well and I have to say cooking is my passion.

Well when it comes to cooking I have to say that running is something that I have been including more into my life because its something that I just cannot imagine not having in life. After running the Brooklyn Half Marathon back in May and moving to Boston in August I have missed my runs in Brooklyn. Thinking about Fort Greene and the Brooklyn Bridge has brought me to a standstill and have just started training again to do more running events. I will be doing the 60K NYRR event on November 17th in NY. I cannot wait to get out there and do my best because I love it.

It has been some time since I decided to become vegan I have realized how amazing I have felt as a runner since I have been training so hard on a vegan diet. My body has been doing such a great job of self repair and I have been eating more greens and pretty much have eliminated processed food from my diet. Since I'm training for this Ultra Marathon I have stopped drinking, no processed food,low sugar intake, no beverages unless water and all natural juices and more rest. I have felt amazing since I have made running apart of my daily schedule. Veganism has always been for me to live a greener life and never was to stop doing things I love because that was not a choice. Food is power and I believe that anyone can go vegan as long as you do it right. Because food is power it does heal us from many things that may be harming our bodies. I will be back soon with another post. Please feel free to email black.veganism@gmail.com Looking forward to hearing from, Donnie

Transition to Veganism

I have often wondered if veganism was something that would spread. Now I have been vegan for some time and I have always wanted to know how it was to go vegan. One of my friends has over the years been asking me to email him information on veganism. Then I would see post on his facebook that would say that chicken was good and I would think he hasn't started his transition to veganism. At the same time I did try my best to be open to the idea that it might happen some day and whenever I did post anything on my facebook wall about veganism he would comment with wanting more information and I would always send him information.

Now that we are in a New Year I have had the chance to chat with George and he has been going strong with his veganism and I could not be happier. When it comes to going vegan for people of color it can be heard. We are us to having "traditional" dishes to our culture like for Latinos meat is a very big thing as well in the Black community we do eat tons of eat from my personal experience. But when one of my friends of color decides to go vegan I want to be there to support them through this journey because it can be very hard at the beginning and I know all I needed was support to start off with veganism.

I emailed George yesterday to ask him a few questions. He was kind enough respond back to my email with some amazing response. I hope to meet up with George for a meal and do a in person check in. Here is the interview :


George Cruz gives me a personal understand of his vegan journey!!!!


1) Why did you go vegan ?

Me my brother and a couple of friends were talking about body fat and bmi, it just so happened I have an app that calculates it..I checked mine and it was horrible the exact words were " you are in obesity stage 1, a major lifestyle is needed because you are headed in the direction that can give you gall bladder disease, diabetes and a couple of more major health problems"...right then and there I started researching lifestyle changes and the #1 thing I kept noticing was "vegan" I read a couple of books the major one that stood out to me was "the beauty detox" I read the book in 2 days and changed my life around in a week.


2) Are you and your family ( Lisa and daughter) eating vegan together ?

Sadly no..I try talking them into it and bring up all the benefits that being a vegan can bring but being skinny all her life she feels its no point to even try being vegan, my daughter has some of the smoothies I make but when it comes to the solid veggies the only thing she likes is carrots.


3) What are some of your favorite foods?

I make smoothies every morning that consists of romaine lettuce head, 8 cups of spinich, celery, apple, pear banana and juice from 1/2 a lemon..for lunch I usually just make my own salads or have an advocado sandwich on millet bread those are my main meals that I focus on, of course I eat my fruit as well but I'm still a beginner looking for recipes and other ways to enjoy my vegetables

4) How do you feel now that you are vegan ?
The first thing I noticed was a boost of energy, and the more and more I ate healthy I felt the bloated feeling leave and in about two weeks I started noticing my skin clearing up, I also seen this documentary on animals and the way they are treated for food it was just so sad and disgusting , all the antibiotics they use and growth hormones all form toxins in our bodies that stop us from living truly happy and healthy lives, being vegan feels awesome I have no guilt when I eat :)


5) What do you miss ?
I really miss sweet's that is my thing ,skittles,juices , and all of those refined sugars. I really do not crave any products that contains anything that had a face, that documentary scared me straight


6) Tell me anything else that you would like to tell me.

Just that I've been trying to head in this direction for about 6 months and just kept putting it off, I did it and I feel so good and happy about my decision I just wish I can get my daughter and Lisa to join me.

Dun-Well Doughnuts

I'm sitting here in my Brooklyn kitchen just thinking about much time has gone by since I decided to become a vegan. I remember that day like it was yesterday when I was sitting in my dorm room at Northfield Mount Hermon and just thinking that I needed to make a decision about the way that I was eating and living my life. On the cold and rainy day I decided that I would try out veganism for 7 days and I never looked back. I called my friend Jennifer who has been vegan for 20+ years to get some advice and support in making this decision. But the one thing that I remember telling myself was that I have to be able to eat yummy sweets.

Veganism is now one of the most talked about things it seems. People are writing more books and more vegan dining options are popping up on the menus of great places to eat in New York City and around the world. But I have to say nothing excites me more than when a new Vegan place opens that is dedicated vegan treats. I have had doughnuts and the first doughnut that I recall having was the Babycakes NYC doughnut it was so yummy and I knew right away that it was super healthy. I thought that would be the end of my doughnut days because I knew that was the only vegan doughnut for me at the time.


Something magical happen and that's when I started hearing people speak about this Dun- Well Doughnuts and I was like okay I have to try it. When I was visiting my family when I was on break I remember going to a place that had the doughnuts and they informed me that they had sold out. That made me more and more excited to one day have one of these doughnuts that all of my other vegan counterparts in NYC had only tasted. I was so far behind and I was very sad about that because I was the one who would rush out and try that new vegan dish or dessert if it interest me.

Finally on a cold winter day in December 2011 I took the train from my Brooklyn apartment to a changing neighborhood now called East Williamsburg and all the real NEw Yorkers know it as Bushwick to try out these vegan doughnuts. I was heading to Indiana and I decided that it was time to get one of these doughnuts in my tummy. I have to say that Dun-Well is amazing and they have some of the best doughnuts I have ever had in my life. I love Chris because he is always so nice to me and was willing to explain to me what so special about the doughnuts.

I could not imagine not having Dun-Well in my life. But at the same time I feel that the message that they are sending is amazing and it just shows people that it's not necessary to use animal products to have a good tasting treat. I encourage all vegans and non- vegans to stop by Dun-Well Doughnuts and make sure to take a dozen home with you. It's worth ever penny and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do when I'm biting into them.




Dun-Well Doughnuts
222 Montrose Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11206

New Year and a New Vegan

It feels like I always start a blog post the same way because I never blog. I hope to start doing this more often since people actually read what I have to say. Because it's a New Year I have finally made some resolutions or better yet decided to start something and see how that all goes.

Since the last time I have blogged I have graduated from College. Travel on the road for many days with some of my college friends. Went to graduate school and decided that Public School teaching was not for me. Then moved back to New York and work at a great non profit and been enjoying the city. I have a boyfriend and being in a relationship has been a good thing for me. But most of all I have been eating out and not doing much cooking in the year 2011 and hope that will change in 2012. So far so good.

I have decided that right now I want to work out more and eat healthier than I have been doing in the past. I have been vegan for over 5 years and I think that it's time that I take more time to understand what I'm putting into my body. I have decided that I will be eating more fruits instead of unhealthy snacks. I will be cooking more vegetables instead of eating tons of processed meat alternatives. We need to think about the things that we put into our body so our body in the end can help us heal.

For the past two days I have been going to gym and cooking my dinner. Tonight I will be having collard greens, spinach, and organic carrots. Tofu will be my other addition with some yummy yams with Earth Balance. This is a yummy meal and I will see how this all goes in the end. Food is suppose to do many things for us and I want to make sure that I use food to help me and not harm my body.

It would be great to hear from friends about the new foods they will be cooking and the things that you have decided to change with this 2012 year just starting. Eat well and be well.

Vegans In Vegas

It has been confirmed I will be speaking at the Vegans in Vegas event this year. This should be exciting. If you want more information check it out. Ryan Henn is doing a great job getting the information out to people.

http://vegansinvegas.com/
'
My Bio:

Donnie Smith serves on the advisory board for the Food Empowerment Project (FEP), a non-profit seeking to create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one’s food choices. FEP’s mission is to encourage healthy food choices that reflect a more compassionate society by spotlighting the abuse of animals on farms, the depletion of natural resources, unfair working conditions for produce workers, and the unavailability of healthy foods in low-income areas. Donnie will be presenting on the connection between race, class and the inequity of our current food system for people of color and low income communities.

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Donnie is a graduate of Earlham College in Richmond, IN. where he was a member of the animal rights group on campus (Friends of Animals) and became active in the food movement by not only reaching out to fellow students about food policies, but also helping them understand how their food choices can change the world.