Becoming a Vegan Gladiator & MASSIVE Vegan Proteins/Health & Fitness/Bodybuilding Giveaway!

Here's a quick journey in pictures (and some words) of my vegan bodybuilding & fitness journey over the past two months.  At the end, you get the chance to win part of a $300+ multi-prize package in the coolest giveaway KMIV has done.  Get started & finish strong.  Have fun & good luck!

This is what I was planning on running (and eventually ran):

The Gladiator Rock'N Run 6K at Great Park in Irvine, CA.

This is what used for training:

Insanity: The 60-Day Total Body Condition Program.  Six days a week for nine weeks, working out from the comfort of my own home. Thirty to sixty minutes of pure sweat, extreme core & endurance workouts.  Interested in trying it out? Connect with Team Beachbody Coach Jessica Pease Jessup - she'll get you going.

This is what I used for my Vegan Power:

Vega Performance Protein (Chocolate's my favorite!), Pre-Workout Energizer, Recovery Accelerator, Protein Bars (Oh, how my taste buds crave Chocolate Saviseed), VegaOne Bars (Chocolate Almond? Chocolate Cherry? Can I have two faves?), VegaOne Nutritional Shakes, WarriorFood (Vanilla was quite tasty.)

This is what I wore:

                               

After two months of training with Insanity (with a lapse for vacation), the gym, and finally my own-invented RUNSANITY (contact me if you wanna hear more about it), I got into the shape I wanted to be in for the run (picture timeline from left to right to bottom), for me to prove mySelf as a... Vegan Gladiator.

 

And so I ran. Here are some highlights:

 

 

There was rope climbing, burpees with cinderblocks, laps with 40 lb. bags of rice, an ice-cold pool (which I had to submerge myself in), 8 ft. walls & dumpsters to scale, wooden pegs and log bridges to traverse, and, oh yeah, lots and lots of mud. Mud to crawl through, mud to walk through, mud walls to get over.  I'll be posting a video compilation sometime - here's my facebook page if you want to follow along.

__________

Now that my 2nd Gladiator Run and training journey is over, it's time to start the next. For me - and for you. So Kiss Me, I'm Vegan! & Vegan Proteins is teaming up to put you in prime position to enhance your health, bodybuilding, and fitness goals with a MASSIVE giveaway, featuring prizes that total over $300 in value.

Here are the prize packages:

Vegan Gladiator Grand Prize - NEW Vega Sport Energizer (new formula, sugar-free! & ONLY available at Vegan Proteins, now on pre-sale exclusive), Vega Energizing Smoothie, Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness book, Vega t-shirt, blender bottle, Vega tote bag, AND a BRAND NEW Training Meal Program by Dani Taylor (Official PlantBuilt.com Online Training Coach & VeganProteins.com Online Personal Training Coach)

Vegan Gladiator-In-Training Runner-Up Prize - 250g tub of Warrior Food (vanilla), 1 lb tub of PlantFusion (cookies 'n creme), VitaMineral Earth, PlantFusion shaker bottle, and PlantFusion t-shirt

Vegan Squire Consolation Prize - Vegan Proteins t-shirt and Vegan Health & Fitness Magazine's Spring 2013 issue

Check out the Vegan Proteins website here.  This giveaway is special because it features a product and a service which are brand spankin' new. Excited to get people boosted with the new energizer and on-track with training meal plans with Dani.

Meet Giacomo. He's running the show at Vegan Proteins (with Dani, co-founder and Giacomo's trainer extraordinaire) and has the body to prove it:

 

And here's how you enter! - it's simple and fun. Check out the Rafflecopter widget below. Earn yourSelf more entries into the raffle giveaway by following directions for each task.  NOTE: if you utilize a method to grab an extra entry, please make sure you've actually done it or it will be considered ineligible if chosen as the winning entry.

Good luck to all you Gladiators of Compassion (and so much more)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ FOR GEORGE.

Please take a moment to read the following post by my very vegan husband, Steven Todd Smith.

George was a beloved duck in the San Antonio River Walk area. He hung out by the Original Mexican Restaurant and was friendly toward patrons. A couple of nights ago, two guys tortured and killed George. It's a sad occurrence and I'm sure very sad for the people who interacted with him or even had the chance to meet him once.

I know some ducks who now live at Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres They're adorable and a lot of them are shy. They waddle around, eat, swim & lounge in their little pools. Lindsay and I sponsored a goose named Winny when she first arrived at the sanctuary. We love her very much, visit her, and play and cuddle with her. Although she can be a bit nippy sometimes to those she doesn't feel safe around, we have developed a sincere bond with her and only get affectionate snuggles and nibbles now. I've even seen Lindsay walk into Winny's area, lay down, and watch in awe as Winny remembers Lindsay and calmly climbs on top of her. It's a bond that can only be built through mutual respect, kindness, and love. 

Here is Kate Winslet narrating a video about Foie Gras cruelty. Foie Gras, meaning "fat(ty) liver," is a delicacy among some circles & high-end diners. To create this dish of a duck's fatty liver, the duck has to be force-fed until the liver is abnormally large. The ducks either die or are killed, and then people eat their livers. You can read more about it here. Ducks are also eaten for their flesh, not just their fatty livers.

Whether we're talking about George, Winny, or the many ducks and geese killed for foie gras that remain nameless, we're talking about living beings, living creatures, animals whom we, as humans, have the ability to develop relationships with, just like our own companion animals: dogs, cats, pigs, chickens, etc. A story like George's, which is truly sad, is shared with such sorrow and heaviness, while there are no stories shared (of the same kind) of the billions of ducks and geese - who could be named George, who could be as friendly as George - who are killed for their flesh or fatty livers, also truly sad.

If you are sad about George's death, just like the newscasters and those in the River Walk area, I highly recommend that you think about your food choices a little, or a lot, deeper. Duck, cow, pig, chicken, goat, dog, cat - all of these animals are eaten by some people around the world; all of these animals have names and are friendly companions to some people around the world. 

We must, as human beings, bridge the disconnect and live in alignment with our beliefs and values; if that involves kindness, compassion, and an adversity to killing (innocent beings), then it must be for all, for George and all like George.

Go to www.chooseveg.com to learn how to take steps toward a more compassionate lifestyle, and thank you for reading today. 

Dear vegan food,

Thank you. For nearly five years of beautiful, yummy, compassionate bliss. For always satisfying every single taste bud. For keeping my body energized and strong. For enduring the first year of trial and error as I learned how to cook you. For being patient as I tasted different kinds of you over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again until I realized I liked you. All of you. For being more delicious, more fulfilling, more comforting than any animal-based food I've ever had. For not purposely harming a single living being in the making of you. For being healthy (most of you). For always being there, in my kitchen, no matter what kind of day I've had. For loving me back by making my body smile, my heart stay open, and my mind remain at peace. I love you and will continue eating you - and only you - for as long as I can eat. That's a promise.

Love,

Lindsay

Real Men Are Vegan!

My sexy vegan husband with Paulo at
Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres. 

"It takes no great feat of strength to drive through KFC and pick up a bucket of chicken parts. It takes zero courage to pay desperate (and often illegal) workers to slaughter the most docile and defenseless creatures on earth. And hunting down a hot dog while watching the game hardly qualifies as bravery.

What DOES take strength, courage and fortitude is standing up for what’s right – even if it’s inconvenient, or means going against the grain. While many stereotypes about manhood ring false for me, some do ring true. In my opinion, real men are those who stand tall to protect the weak and defenseless. Real men choose integrity over peer-pressure. Real men don’t harm and kill others for pleasure or “sport.” Real men fight for justice and refuse to participate in the needless exploitation and oppression of others.

In other words, real men are vegan."

- from the blog, Veganism Is the Future

Comment if you are a strong, vegan man or know one who is!

Celebrating Earth Day and VegWeek 2013! Make a Pledge!

It's that time again! Celebrate Earth Day and VegWeek 2013 with a revamped KMIV post from last year.

Today, Monday, April 22nd is our 43rd anniversary of Earth Day, a day observed to celebrate this amazing planet on which we live by doing "green" acts of good to positively benefit our Earth.  Over 1 billion people all over the world actively celebrated this year's Earth Day, as shared by the Earth Day Network, with pledges ranging from planting gardens to "unplugging" for the day, from recycling to limiting water usage.

Within the past couple of years, the United Nations has been outspoken on the one greatest contributor to our global climate/environment issue: the consumption of animal products.  Some recent articles, here and here, detail the latest environmental statistics.  With the meat and dairy industries' blatant over-usage of earth's precious resources (water and fossil fuels specifically), with the devastation of rainforests to clear space for animal agriculture, with unnecessary pollution, runoff, waste and excess climate-changing gases produced from factory farms (and other smaller animal-based industries), our planet - and therefore, all life on it - is suffering tremendously.  While all of the pledges listed above are valuable in their own ways, there is one specific choice that can make the most difference: adopt a compassionate, healthful, Earth-friendly vegan diet.  And here's why!

A 2011 study conducted by the Vegetarian Resource Group showed that 2.5% of the US population - that's about 8 million people - consume vegan diets, double the amount from 2009.   And along with this "market for vegan food," there's been a distinct decrease in the amount of meat, dairy, and eggs consumed, as noted in Nil Zacharius' HuffPo article.

We still have a long way to go though, and that's why we're reaching out to you to help make a difference this year - which will end up making a difference for all years to come. 

This week is VegWeek!  Running from today, Monday, April 22nd through Sunday, April 28th, this week is all about making those compassionate, healthful, Earth-friendly choices to benefit all life on our planet along with our Earth herself!  What can you do?  So many things!

1) Do you eat omnivorously?  Not sure what to do?  Start simple and try one day of plant-based meals.  Just one day.  It's amazing what even one day can do to benefit the TriVegta™ (health, animals, environment)... 

Yeah, still proud of my invented TriVegta™.

The late Oreo at Animal Acres. (Photo © Cameron O'Steen)

2) Are you bold?  Do you want to make a difference?  Take a 7-day Veg Pledge (and maybe win some cool prizes from Compassion Over Killing)!

3) Vegetarian? Go Vegan one day! Or even better: the whole week!

4) Vegan? Encourage at least one friend, family member, coworker to try any of options #1-3!

5) Human being? Well, if you are (I think that means every one of you), then please share this blog post to help spread the word about the greatest choice to save our world!

Check out COK's resources, upcoming events, participating VegWeek restaurants, and sponsors, and do your best to make every day an Earth day.

Please comment below with your Earth Day/VegWeek 2013 pledge!  Help make the biggest difference you can!

Kisses,

Lindsay and Steve

Enjoy some more of these articles on veganism, the environmental toll from eating meat, etc.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-friedrich/a-sin-tax-on-meat-would-i_b_844179.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/we-can-lean-into-a-better_b_827716.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/environment-eat-less-meat-cheese-dairy-health_n_901464.html

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/meat-consumption-the-downward-spiral-continues/

Food Pics. For your Eyes, Taste Buds, and Bellies.

The past few months have brought us many delicious meals.  Restaurants in LA, raw food masterpieces in Bimini, and a lot of fun in the kitchen. Tons of pictures floating around on our phones and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram... but few/none to the blog.  And that's a travesty!

So it's time to start the sharing.  There's quite a backlog.  But that'll just provide that much more yummy viewing & visual salivating.  We'll start in the WolfSmith kitchen, where Steve's been having some fun making up his own recipes:

KGB (Kale Garbanzo Brownrice Burger) - still in the making, finalized recipe to come! (It packs lots of flavor and spice! And it's green!)

Adding to the KGBs with Daiya Mozzarella and homemade split pea topping 

Stuffed Peppers! This one packs in asparagus, carrots, mushrooms, and brussels sprouts.  Definitely Nooched up, also.

Stuffed Peppers Part Deux! Got cheesy and spicy with these, adding some Daiya, hot sauce,  paprika (and possibly a bit too much black pepper).

Stuffed Peppers Part Trois! This variation has brown rice, carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, topped with partially blended chickpeas.

Peter Piper picked a peck of (unpickled) peppers, then stuffed them, topped them with chickpeas, baked them, and ate them.  I hope he gave me credit for the delicious recipe.

Inspired by Jane Esselstyn's Sweet Potato Polenta Stacks (which will be featured in Rip Esselstyn's upcoming book, My Beef With Meat) at Farms2Forks in LA, I tried out my own Sweet Potato Stax, with some ketchup and cashew cream.

Sweet Potato Stax new and improved - and even more delicious and colorful and messy and fun! These feature tempeh, polenta, steamed spinach, ketchup, and cashew cream stacked between the sweet potato layers.  Yum, yum, yum.

Many more mouthwatering pictures 

(and as many recipes that go along with them) to come!

Things I love.

This. 

vegan pancakes at Cafe Gratitude in LA. 

And this. 

snuggling with winny the goose at
farm sanctuary's animal acres in acton, ca.

And THIS. 

... And THIS. 

Taking a little break.

Hey loves. 

Taking a little break from the blog, as life has led us both in different creative directions. Everything will stay up, so no worries - you will be able to get your proper KMIV inspiration where it's due. Thank you endlessly for your abundant, beautiful support, and we encourage you to peel through old blog posts if you're jonesing for some KMIV lovin' - so many goodies in there dating back to 2008. 

And not to fear - we shall be returning. Hey, Steve may even shoot over a post every now and then in the interim. Keep checking in on us. 

If you are here for the first time and new to the vegan movement, great links to start with are chooseveg.com and peta.org.

Keep rockin' on, friends.

Your grateful vegan bloggers,

Lindsay & Steve

"No animal needs to die in order for me to live. And that makes me feel good." - Howard Lyman

Repeat the Sounding Joy.

My dear readers,

One of my favorite moments from one of my favorite holiday films - The Family Stone - is when Sarah Jessica Parker and Luke Wilson are cuddled in bed, looking up at the ceiling, and she starts humming "Joy to the World." She lands on the phrase in the lyrics, 

REPEAT THE SOUNDING JOY

REPEAT THE SOUNDING JOY

REPEAT, REPEAT

THE SOUNDING JOY.

Then Luke Wilson says quietly to himself, "Repeat the sounding joy. Hmm."

I love that moment so much.

At Farm Sanctuary's Orland, CA shelter. Photo © Connie Pugh.

Mostly because, that's been the theme running inside of me for much of 2012. I've been outwardly living my inner joy for a while now, but after reading The Secret this past week (I know, I know, how did I let it pass me by for almost seven years before picking it up?), I'm totally convinced that living joyfully is absolutely the right way to go. A few things I took away from the book: 

Our thoughts are extremely powerful in helping to shape our 
world, 

Focusing and obsessing on what we don't want will just continue to bring it to us, and even more importantly, will keep us from bringing in what we do want, 

Living in gratitude, actively choosing to be happy now, and having complete faith in our pursuits - that's the key to growing and lasting success.

One of my favorite quotes from Rhonda Byrne's book is by Lisa Nichols:

"Everything that you want - all the joy, love, abundance, prosperity, bliss - it's there, ready for you to grab ahold of it. And you've got to get hungry for it. You've got to be intentional. And when you become intentional and on fire for what you want, the Universe will deliver every single thing you've been wanting. Recognize the beautiful and wonderful things around you, and bless and praise them. And on the other side, the things that aren't currently working the way you want them to work, don't spend your energy faulting or complaining. Embrace everything that you want so you can get more of it."

Now, I didn't read Rhonda's book lightly - I know that anything worthwhile takes a little time and rarely, if ever, comes the way we expect it would. But in this past year, a few magical occurrences have transpired, and the outcome of them has far exceeded what I was hoping for when I planted the seed of the goal in my heart. One came in the form of falling head over heels in love with the prospect of producing a feature film. And it's just the beginning. 

So, how does all of this apply to vegan living and our pursuit to create a more compassionate world?

Well...

I love you, Fred.

What if, instead of admonishing, criticizing, or judging someone for their non-vegan choices, we praised them for any small step they take in the right direction?

What if, instead of simply preaching the benefits of vegan living, we actively practice living the benefits and be a beautiful example to those around us?

What if, instead of only focusing our thoughts on the pain, misery, and abuse occurring at this very moment for the billions of animals in this country and beyond, we focus intently on creating positive change for them, we focus intently on the farmed animal rescues that do occur, we focus intently on our vegan movement growing person by person, we focus intently on meat consumption dwindling (it's already gone down 12% in the last five years!), and we live in that focus?

What if.

This coming year, I encourage you, my beautiful readers, every single day to choose joy. Choose positive thinking over negative. Choose to put out oodles of bliss-filled vibes out there for our world and the animals, and with that, take compassionate steps toward the kind of world you want. Which bring to mind a few quotes:

If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do. -Gandhi

That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.
- Willa Cather

Gratitude always comes into play; research shows that people are happier if they are grateful for the positive things in their lives, rather than worrying about what might be missing.
― Dan Buettner

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.- Henry David Thoreau

Steve with a rescued hen at Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres.

To you all - to you wonderful, compassionate readers - at the very end of the day, pretty pretty please - 

Praise yourself for any single step YOU are taking to live compassionately. Because each and every one of you are HEROES for the animals. No matter how small your action.

So get out there, encourage someone, hug an animal friend, and be a shining example of what it really means to live in Ahimsa, which is to truly live vegan. 

Thank you for being so supportive, loving, and loyal with your readership this year. Here's to a magical 2013! 

Love and vegan kisses,

Lindsay, Steve, and the rest of the Kiss Me, I'm Vegan family

A Thought As You Go Through Your Day.

Animal Acres lovin' with Fred. Photo © Joanna Wilson Photography.

"Ethical veganism results in a profound 

revolution within the individual; a complete 

rejection of the paradigm of oppression and 

violence that she has been taught from 

childhood to accept as the natural order. It 

changes her life and the lives of those with 

whom she shares this vision of nonviolence. 

Ethical veganism is anything but passive; on 

the contrary, it is the active refusal to 

cooperate with injustice."

 - Gary L. Francione

WHAT ARE SOME QUOTES ABOUT VEGANISM YOU LOVE?