Category Archives: Vegan

Day 11 Update Video of the 30 Day PBWF Challenge

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This is a video of Holly and I interviewing each other on Day number 11 of the 30 Day Plant Based Whole Food Challenge. No wheat, soy, sugar, extracted oils or processed junk. Check out Vegan Chef Holly’s 30 recipes in 30 days during this challenge as well as food logs and other articles at www.veganshortcake.com.

Deadlift PR 420lbs.

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Day 7 of the (always Plant-Based) Whole Foods Challenge. That means no tofu, tempeh, seitan, Gardein, Tofurky, Upton’s, or Field Roast. I’m getting protein from beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and some grains. Gluten Free. Soy Free. Excuse Free. 10+ Personal Record.

Chickpea Bread Recipe (Socca)

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Hey guys, since posting some photos of my gluten free chickpea/fava bean bread, I’ve been getting requests for the recipe. I am happy to share! The recipe is really simple and you can experiment until you find the density and thickness that you like the most, but here is a good starting point.

1 cup garbanzo/fava bean flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill. Regular garbonzo bean flour works too.)
1 1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp almond butter (typical socca uses olive oil, but since I am avoiding extracted oils, any nut or seed butter will stand in just fine. Apple sauce is another option as well.)

In a large bowl, mix well with an electric mixer. This recipe will come out fairly thick and you can continue to add water as needed. You want it to be like pancake batter. Now you can cook it a few different ways. So far I have baked it and I have cooked it on the stove top in a non stick pan.

To bake it, pour it into whatever baking dish you prefer, a 9″ baking dish is usually a good choice. I would use a small amount of non stick spray to avoid sticking. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then take it out and carefully flip the bread, and cook another 15 minutes.

To cook on the stove top (which is much quicker), heat the burner to a medium setting. Cook for 6-10 minutes watching carefully until the dough is slightly firm to the touch on top (it shouldn’t stick to your finger). Then with a broad spatula, flip it over and cook another 3-5 minutes, being careful not to burn either side. Then let it cool for a few minutes. Now you are ready to use it like you would bread. This is great as an alternative, because it has more protein and fiber then even whole wheat bread, and it’s delicious! So far, I have done the pb&j, and I also used it as a pizza crust. It is pretty fantastic and really helps to give you that satisfying bread feel. It is also nice to cook a bunch ahead of time, so you can just smear some nut butter or jam on it and go!

pb&j

pizza

Vegans Dominate at the Naturally Fit Super Show!

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PlantBuilt visual

On the weekend of July 26th and 27th, PlantBuilt, a team of vegan athletes, landed in Austin, Texas to make a bold statement on what Vegan’s can do on the bodybuilding stage! We did not disappoint.

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Part of the team as we were arriving on Wednesday before the show.

As a team, we had 14 athletes hit the stage against 150 omnivorous competitors. We won 4 of the top 10 overall spots, Bodybuilder Torre Washington won the lightweight division and the Men’s Overall bodybuilding title, Derek Tresize won the light heavyweight division. Bodybuilder Sara Russert won her lightweight division and the Women’s Overall bodybuilding title. Figure competitor Pam Kalstad won her division and overall title, earning her pro status, and bodybuilder Will Tucker won his division and overall title for master’s bodybuilding (over 40 years of age). Bodybuilders Austin Barbisch and Marcella Torres finished second in their divisions and Giacomo Marchese finished 3rd in men’s middleweight bodybuilding. Figure competitor Stephanie Rice finished runner up and Tiffany Burich followed in 3rd. In the Men’s Physique category, I finished in 2nd place, and Chad Byers finished in 3rd out of 24 competitors.

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Mindy Collette placed 4th in the bikini tall class out of a dozen plus competitors. Yolanda Presswood and Christy Morgan both had powerful display’s of vegan fitness and grace in the bikini short class, which had even more competitors.

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We took home quite the collection of trophies. The competition spanned over Friday and Saturday. During the Saturday event, which lasted around 4 hours, the announcers of the event said “Vegan” at least 20 times. During our individual routines, as well as during the award ceremonies, the message was loud and clear that we are here to promote a compassionate lifestyle and we showed with tremendous success that no animals need to be harmed in the making of a lean and strong body.

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On Sunday after the competition weekend was over, we went to Big Bald Mike’s Bonebreaker Barbell Gym in Kyle, TX. We did a fun photoshoot for Vegan Health & Fitness Magazine and Vegan Bodybuilding.com, as well as some photos for our team sponsors, PlantFusion and Vegan Proteins.com. This week was such an amazing experience! It truly was a gathering of many of my influences in the vegan fitness community in one place. It was a chance to see and reconnect with old friends, meet brand new ones, and reflect on how far we have come as a community.

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I want to thank all of our sponsors and everyone for making this happen. Thanks to Giacamo and Dani for organizing the PlantBuilt team in the first place, Brenda and Brian at Vegan Health and Fitness Magazine, Vegan Proteins, Robert Cheeke at Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness for being a tremendous support for years now, Scott at Plant Fusion, Elana Priesman at Beyond Fit for getting us all individual boxes with tons of great products from companies like Engine 2 Diet, Justin’s Nut Butter, Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale, Rhythm Superfoods, Just Pure Foods, and Eda-Zen, as well as Sara Brightly at Skinny Limits for amazing juice during the weekend. Big thanks to Chad and Tricia at Beyond Fit Austin and Big Bald Mike at Bonebreaker Barbell for letting us workout in their plant-powered gyms. Also a big thanks to my partner Holly for supporting me throughout the year leading up to this. She is a vegan chef and with her expertise, pre-contest nutrition was much easier and tastier. You can follow her at http://www.veganshortcake.com/

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Here is a video highlight of the week, thanks to Brenda and Brian at http://www.vhfmag.com