I was the queen of squeezing in workouts today. After finally(!) submitting grades, I literally had 20 minutes during which I managed to throw on something athletic looking, and do a fairly vigorous workout on an elliptical downstairs. By the time, I took a shower, I was running slightly late, but I figured that Brendan, being an athlete and all, would understand… 
It was pouring rain when I left, so I was actually few minutes late, but thankfully so was Brendan, and the actual talk did not start until 7.30pm.
Teaser poster for the talk Dasha and I attended yesterday.
Now first off, let me tell you, Brendan looks very different in person! One of the attendees even commented on his appearance – he is skinny! I am not a very big person, but I look three times as wide as him. I think you can even see the surprised expression in my eyes. LOL
The actual talk lasted for about forty minutes, and then Brendan took questions. Given that Vega, Brendan’s line of products, just extended their line, this book tour was understandably all about the product promotion as well. Vega is a food supplement line, offering protein powders and energy bars. To me, the message is inconsistent, however. Given that one of his main arguments is that you can get all of your nutrients from a plant-based whole foods diet, then why on earth would you need supplements?
I think Vega is a superior choice to protein shakes, if you are in a need of a protein shake. It does not include any artificial sweeteners, or dyes, and it’s also great if you are vegan and/or avoiding gluten and soy. But not everyone needs a protein shake! That’s the message that seems to be lost. One of the women attending, who was significantly overweight, started making positive changes to her lifestyle. Kudos!!! She does Tai Chi and AquaFit, and was wondering how many times a day she should be taking Vega. How many TIMES A DAY? Seriously? One serving of Vega powder has 26g of protein, and 220 calories. How many of these could you possibly NEED?
Overall, I think his book and message would be especially interesting for aspiring and/or professional athletes who are interested in plant-based diet (hi, Dasha!). Brendan is big on veganism (obviously), sprouting, and acid/alkaline approach to eating. It would be nice to see a little bit more research, and fact checking behind many claims that he makes. For example, he mentioned that lettuce is 45% protein. However, when you look at the nutritional profile of lettuce, it has 1g of protein per 72g serving, so that’s just over 1%… ??? Lettuce is actually the least nutritious leafy green vegetable, as it’s very low calorie (and hence, loved by dieters everywhere), and is mostly water.
As for alkaline diet… There is no scientific evidence for any claims that alkaline diet makes. The main proponent of the alkaline diet, Robert O. Young, holds multiple “degrees” from an unaccredited distance education institution, and has not published any research in recognized scientific journals. A good review of alkaline diet and its claims put together by a licensed nutritionist can be found here.
However, if we do not get bogged down with details, Brendan’s main arguments are definitely in the right direction:
- eat more fruit and vegetables (amen!)
- eat less processed foods
- vegan does not equal healthy
- you can be healthy eating vegan
- you can get enough protein being vegan
- you can be a professional athlete being vegan
Of course, I could not leave a health food store without buying a whole slew of nut and seed butters (and check out the styling bag it came in):
- Crofter’s jam
- almond butter
- pumpkin seed butter
- sunflower seed butter
- blueberry Solgurt (I’m nervous again)
- coconut water – 2 new flavours
- Vega bar (this stuff is incredibly expensive, but I figured I’ll have to try something of Vega)
Brendan is a big proponent of having at least one big salad as a meal every single day. Check!
- spinach
- broccoli
- tomato
- 1/4 avocado
- 1/3 cup of black beans
- 2 tbsp of sliced almonds (I have almonds in 3 different styles at home – how sad is that?)
- sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, s+p
A corner edge of whole grain bread with hummus.
Rooibos tea in a cool mug.
Snack later: ShaSha spelt raisin bread. This tasted quite a bit like… cardboard. 
Hey, anything can be eaten after you toast it and smear with pumpkin seed butter and jam, but I don’t think I will be buying this again. Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread is much better!
Pumpkin seed butter tasted just like pumpkin seeds! I have not decided yet whether the taste warrants repurchase…
Wow – lots of bread today (although these slices are tiny). I’m just going to go ahead and blame the hormones.
Glass of bubbly water with POM juice before bed… Yes, I know this bottle looks like a fancy European vodka. It’s water, I promise. Another impulse purchase – the bottle looked pretty. Meh – tasted like any other soda water. Back to regular club soda, me thinks.
Did you notice the naughty European glass though?
