Thanksgiving has come and gone in what feels like the blink of an eye. I was woken yesterday by a text message at 6 am (sad to realize I used to think 6 am was sleeping in!) In that message was a photo of my younger siblings dressed in workout gear, equipped with a running bib. I immediately felt bummed I was not partaking in a Turkey Trot of some sort. I let it go, and fell back asleep for a while.

When I woke later on, I discovered my wonderful mother in the kitchen about to prepare some vegan rolls for her crazy vegan daughter. We were low on flour thanks to my adventure the night before making pumpkin pie, and this meant it was my turn to go get flour.  That’s when I was given the genius idea to run to the store to get the flour. It’s a little over 4miles round trip, so it was nothing I couldn’t handle.

While running to the store I had another genius idea: Use the store bag to make my own running bib. I told this idea to the lady who rang me up for my flour and she looked at me like I was insane. Perhaps I was, I ended up having to run the two miles home with a 5lb bag of flour under my arm. I channeled my inner quarter back and alternated between arms. SO long story short I got a run in, and I played some traditional turkey day football.

Uh yeah, so that looks more like a mug shot than a proud running photo. I’ll just stash that on in the “do not open” folder. 4 miles done with a 9:44 pace, yay. Moral of the story: If you miss out on a race, make your own! Moving on..

Dinner couldn’t come fast enough. In case you’re curious what a vegan eats on T-day here’s my plate. It’s very similar to last years vegetarian T-day. The only difference this year was dessert. Pumpkin pie isn’t vegan friendly, so I ended up making my own.

THE best part of the meal. Potatoes and cranberries ON the bread.

My plate looks a little lacking in the protein department, but fear not my pie was full of protein. I’d be lying if I said I waited until after dinner to eat my pie. In fact I had a slice the night before, and that morning to fuel my run.

The secret ingredient in this delicious masterpiece? Tofu. 

There is nothing more satisfying than a skeptical outsider eating a vegan dessert and swooning more than you did.

This pie definitely stole the show, and my heart. An entire 15 oz of tofu in this beast and you’d have no idea unless I told you. Spices are an amazing thing.

Best part of the pie, the last few bites with extra crust.

This was my first time making a pie completely from scratch (including the crust!) and it turned out amazingly. I may just have to find another excuse for pumpkin pie when this one is gone!

So that was my day. I had satisfaction from running, and creating new foods, and I got sweaty while eating. Or maybe it was the other way around. Or maybe a combination of everything! To end this post right, I must share what I am thankful for. I am thankful for my family, my friends, my health, my body, my mind, and my motivation to create new foods and try new adventures! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Candy Cane Joe Joe’s calling my name..time to prepare for Christmas! 😉

Q: What was the highlight of your Thanksgiving? If you didn’t celebrate, or you celebrated earlier in the year, what was the highlights of your week!?