Recovery.

Last night, I did just what I said I would. I came home from work, took a power nap, ate a soy burger for protein and basically relaxed. I also drank a BUNCH of water. Then I went to bed (after taking melatonin, cause I was having trouble sleeping) and I woke up feeling so much better today. I slept in a bit, then went to the gym and did a nice cardio workout on the elliptical, which is the first time I've used one since college. I'm not a big treadmill person, mostly because of my knee problems, but if I do the bike too much, I feel a little lazy.

Then I ran some errands, including picking up some vegan cookbooks from the library. (I got "The Kind Diet" by Alicia Silverstone, which I am really excited about reading.) Then for lunch, I was going to go to YATS, which is a local Cajun/Creole restaurant here in Indy. They have four locations and one is just about a mile from my apartment. They change the menu up every once in awhile, so I always check it to see what they have before I go. They always have vegetarian options, and most of the time, a vegan dish as well. But today, the first time I've been in a couple weeks, they didn't have anything vegan. Both of the vegetarian dishes they had were made with a cream sauce, so I couldn't eat them. They also always serve yummy bread with butter on it, so I'd have to skip that.

Since they didn't have what I wanted today, I decided to make my own version at home. I had thawed out some split pea soup that my mom and I made a couple weeks ago and then I thawed out about a cup of brown rice. I poured the split pea soup (which is rather thick) over the brown rice and then topped it with Frank's RedHot -- my favorite condiment. I broiled a couple slices of whole grain bread in the oven that I had topped with Earth Balance and garlic. The entire preparation only took about five minutes and then I had a super filling, very delicious lunch. And the spicy is just what I needed.

I'm excited to read my new vegan cookbooks, but it'll have to wait since I have a full day of work, errands and a retreat for work later tonight. I'll let you know if I find anything fun. :)