blactivegan

in the guest post on nite*vision’s blog, “does pepsi own your organic…” i made reference to how the food biz giants are buying out all your favorite “organic food” companies. because of the post’s popularity and witty vegan cartoons, i thought you all would love “grocery store wars” from the cats that brought you the meatrix series. enjoy and may the veggie force be with you…

after nite*vision’s guest post, “cows dropping like flies” (2 posts below), i had to return the favor. check out does pepsi own your organic… and find out how the big food corporation have been sneaking into the “organic” game.

“it’s the catch 22…am i going to be unhealthy and play football? or healthy and get out of the league?”

in a january wsj article, reed albergotti posed the following trick question, “…could an all-star national football league player…live on a vegan diet and still excel in one of the most punishing jobs in sports?” its a trick question because the article cites quotes from the living answer, who also happens to be the highest paid tight-end in the game right now.  kansas city chief’s tony gonzalez went vegan in last year’s preseason and broke 2 all-time nfl records: most touchdowns and career receptions (previously held by shannon sharpe). carl lewis made a similar achievement, winning 4 olympic gold medals after becoming vegan.  tony gonzalez, a 247-lbs former cheeseburger lover, was apprehensive at first thinking he would ‘look like a fool if [it] doesn’t work out’. but after teaming up with “jon hinds, vegan and former l.a. clippers strength coach”, gonzalez was well on his way to sacking the haters, knocking out all bums.

teammates nicknamed him china study and razzed mr. gonzalez if he missed a block. after a preseason practice, he accompanied mr. hinds to learn a skill he believed as important as blocking techniques: how to shop for groceries. mr. hinds showed him ‘nutritious fish oils and how to pick out breads dense with whole grains, nuts and seeds…mr. gonzalezs learned how to make the fruit and vegetables shakes… he stocked his pantry with tubs of soy protein powder and boxes of organic oatmeal; soy milk and brazilian acai juice crwoded the fridge. his favorite dessert became banana bread topped with soy whipped cream…

considered a suspicious “convert” even by his wife because of his addiction to cheeseburgers, gonzalez was inspired after meeting a vegan gentleman who put him on to the china study.  but it wasn’t until gonzalez got sick with bell’s palsy that he actually read the book and decided to use vegan mathematics. his decision was a critical and record breaking one. if a vegan diet is good enough for an nfl cat…hmmm. for the full wall street journal article “247 lbs vegan” click here.

we got baby, baby, baby spare ribs/roast beef/hot links/and more to give/cube steak/hot dogs/ribs tips, ooh/pork chops/turkey wings/and, chicken wings, too -moo & oink theme song, 1982

if you grew up on the south side of chicago, there was absolutely now way you didn’t know the lyrics to moo & oink’s viral classic jingle. when you see the commercial (below), you’ll know why the song would have the most vegan of us rapping along and breaking it down about all kinds of animal meat and waving for catfish.

if the past 12 months hasn’t seen the largest year in beef recalls in history, we should all be worried about just what the hell has been on Continue reading food watch: dropping like cows…

the ny city council has heard and answered our cry for more fresh fruits and vegetables where we live! want to know their answer? wait for it…

wait for it…

fruit carts on our corners!

new york city will issue 1,000 new permits for mobile fruit and vegetable stands in its latest drive against obesity and unhealthiness among its residents.

there’s still no word on whether or not this is in conjunction with a broader plan with things like limiting the number of fast death food restaurants that can occupy a single block or more green spaces for outdoor activity where we live (see how i was nice enough not to even bring up the availability of organic and/or local produce!) Continue reading battling obesity one city corner at a time…

i gave love to this “fruit of the people” a couple years back in a b’earth day post. and even though its season well on its way out, persimmons get a big up for feb 2008 in honor of black history month, the persistence of black love, and just straight up healthy living. overshadowed by the more commercialized cousins of the fruit group, persimmons have grown to have a special place in both the historical & culinary lore of black folks. during the time of chattel slavery in the u.s., marriage for love between african descendants was not only counter to the “breeding” objectives plantation owners, but it was also illegal. african folks developed creative ways to ritualize their love - like ‘jumping the broom’. however, lesser known is the saying in the above epigraph shared between two lovers back in the day. “the persimmon with its [sweetness] was symbolic of how a lover felt about the other”. persimmons found their way into american texts from tales of breer rabbit -the seminal trickster to richard wright- one of america’s most prolific writers. in black boy, richard wright remarked Continue reading food of the month: persimmons…

g.i.a.n.t. thinking is healthy thinking and healthy thinking is balanced thinking, so how you thinking. where’s your knowledge and where’s your wisdom… bartendaz mantra

ok, so the bar has officially been raised–pun intended. the bartendaz go hard on the workouts, seriously. when they are not in the park doing calisthenic “gymnasty” gymnastics, they’re visiting public schools near you. in addition to inspiring a folks to get off the couch and empowering youth through the joys of physical fitness, they are also committed to building community and are in the process of starting a new york charter school. well, april 1st brings in a new multi-sport season, which leaves a little over a month to get it in. lastly, i once saw a clip of a fitness beast on video entitled “if batman were real he’d train like this“ which for the most part is quite impressive for strength, overall body mechanics and control; but, i think wolverine would do it like this: Continue reading get your weight up, batman!…

monday was 61 degrees…imagine me not riding. after a power pack breakfast of my famous buckwheat-hemp-cashew butter pancakes (ask me for the recipe), i set out to get a few miles in at the park to add to the 20 from sunday out with the mtir’s. with sun beamin’ all up and down, there was no way i was doing the “hamster-in-the-wheel” through the park…i had to escape from new york. made it to midway across the gw bridge, when i noticed a strange cloud rain nebulous approaching me. famous last words “just because it looks like a rain cloud doesn’t mean its raining”. i’ll let the photo-essay tell the next part.

while dodging dry air -because there was no way i was avoiding the shower - i managed to assist a fellow cyclist change a flat. the storm slacked up, but the drenching wet bib, jersey, and jacket had me colder than a polar bear’s toe nail. yes, i hopped right onto the 168th st stop a caught the downtown a train. at least i got 44 miles in for the week.

deeply inspired by comments, email requests, the potential of even more successful season, a carbon bike (oooh!), and the forecast of 66 degree weather today in ny. you know the kid was on his bike this morning. and while there a is a -10 to -15 degree difference riding (due to wind chill, morning due, etc) i’d be mighty upset when the temp drops again (or even snows) and only being a passive participant of this conversation =”remember last week when it was 66 some odd degrees out, i got miles in…blah, blah, blah”. so i awoke to last minute tune ups to my trusty red & yellow mondonico -which was worth it to get such a to a nice workout with a fresh pine-scented greeting from the northside evergreens of prospect park and burning Continue reading times up!…

…been a long time i shouldn’t have left…time’s up sorry i kept you. -i know you got soul eric b. & rakim

it’s been a minute. i’ve survived my first bike crash (still healing), official full rookie year (stay tuned for results), new vegan grubbings (kwanzaa’s kitchen table was quite tasty), new year’s costume dance-off (was raj from what’s happenin’, not what’s happening now), got deeper into the herbs… you’ve been with me through all of that but i’m back! even i promise to post more frequently and i have a few goodies i’m working on like: food of the month, restaurant reviews, more pictures, more diapsoric travels, race & training updates, monthly health goals to name a few. special shout outs and big ups are due to the following:

• faithful subscribers of the blog
• those who just stop by to check me out every once in a while
• those who lave comments
• those who stay on me,“you haven’t posted anything in 3 months, what’s good?”
• my mom’s for leaving really personal comments (sometimes too personal)
• soulful vegans out there
• the omniverous folks actively seeking to improve their health
• even those who got here by mistake
• of course wordpress…
• and even the spammers (well maybe not)

because of you this blog reach 5,000 hits in less than a year. now i know that some blogs get more than that but this was just a little side-side-hobby-almost-turned-addiction hobby. i’ve e-met some cool folks in the blogosphere. stay tuned and hold me accountable to my 2008 goals (soon come). oh yeah, i promise to do something abt the categories for my posts. got some house cleaning to do…who let all of these spammers in?