Vegan Kale Soup
Cold weather isn’t my favorite, but soup is. So, I’ll take this cozy recipe and enjoy that I can eat it without sweating.
Recent Posts
PNW Blues…
You always hear, write what you know. Share about you. Well, every year when the season changes, I start to feel depression kicking in. Living in the PNW, I hear about this pretty often, the sunny months are not nearly long enough. I’m writing this …
The Resilient Lisa-Anne Lindley
You know what I love about finding my place in the fitness community? There are SO MANY inspiring people to follow. Everyone has their own story to tell, everyone’s journey is different, but at the same time similar. We all have to start where we are, and move forward from there. Seeing people overcome trials, and push through to new found freedoms, lights my soul on fire.
I’ve decided that I want to be able to share that with you, to help inspire you to keep moving towards the healthiest version of yourself also. That’s what this is, and I hope that you look forward to more of these interviews.
I met Lisa through Spartan Race. I’ve gotten the privilege of seeing her grow for the last few years. It’s funny, we both had our first Spartan Race at the same race in 2014 and didn’t know it until this interview. I love seeing the smile on her face through every obstacle, it’s contagious!
Lisa-Anne Lindley
- 39 years young
- Lives in Washington State
- Single mom to a 16 year old daughter
- Chiropractic assistant
- OCR fanatic
- Beasts OCR team member
How was your life before becoming active?
Life before finding Obstacle Course Racing was lack luster for me. I was searching for something and didn’t know it. I have always struggled with not only my mental health, as I was diagnosed as a teen with bi-polar disorder, but my weight as well. Between the series of up’s and downs of depression, and out of control weight issues, my self confidence was always on the low end of the spectrum. Then I added to the mix a few relationships that turned bad, and to be frank, rather abusive in the forms of mental and verbal abuse. One of those relationships was during the start of my journey into OCRs ( Obstacle Course Racing). So bottom line, before I became active, I started learning about myself and what I felt like was true self worth. I felt as though I didn’t matter much, and I was just going through the motions of life as I had a little one to take care of.
What made you want to become more active?
Something flipped in my head when my daughter was starting school. I wanted to be able to keep up with her. I checked out Roller Derby first, and I freaking loved it! Skating and the physicality of Roller Derby was inedible let alone the friends I made on the team. But the drawback was the time commitment. There was a change happening in me. I was gaining confidence, and bonus points—I lost weight! It would be a few more years before I found OCRs. It was the winter of 2013 when a good friend from high school convinced me to sign up for Warrior Dash that coming summer. I was going through a transition in life so I said sure. Well a couple months later I got a wild hair and started signing up for a bunch of ” fun” runs and signed up for a Spartan Race in that mix. Little did I know, that was going to be my defining moment.
“This sport changed my life in more ways than I can imagine.”
How did becoming more active impact your life?
When I did the 2014 Pac West Sprint, which is now the Portland Sprint, my life changed, and I was hooked on OCRs. I found my place. I found a sport that pushed the hell out of me physically and emotionally, and I could do it with a team. I had a glimmer of hope to one day do on my own. That was the moment that I wanted to become more active. I started getting out and hiking more, walking more, and joining gyms (yeah I have bounced back and forth to a few). It’s been five years now since I started, and I am down around 60-70lbs.
Did seeing other people and their adventures have an impact on you?
I started to follow other OCR athletes and through that it took me down a rabbit hole of other athletes and fitness pages on Instagram and Facebook. I am in Spartan groups and the likes. They keep me going as a daily reminder that even when I have an off day, week, month(s), I can always pick back up and start over. I have gained and lost weight on this journey. I did my first Spartan Beast, which was the Montana founders Beast in 2015, weighing my heaviest in the last five years. I still finished that race, but oh man did it put things into perspective for me. It still took me three more years before I really got on the wagon.
Do you feel like you’ve gotten to where you want to be with your fitness? Or do you feel like you can still grow and do better?
I am not where I want to be due to injuries, and I had a set back of a car accident, but I keep going. I stay active and know that it takes time to get to where I want to be. There are ups and downs in being active, and in fitness nothing happens over night. There is no miracle pill. I struggle to stay motivated and keep going. I have days where I wonder why in the hell I do this. I don’t know if I will ever stand on a podium, but then I have weekends like this last Portland Sprint where I got to be with my team and be apart of a friend’s daughter’s first Spartan race. That reminded my why I still race. It’s about being in the open heats and helping people, and cheering on the ones who you see are struggling and letting them know that they can do it. It’s crossing that finish line and remembering that it might have been a crappy day, month or year, but you just did something so amazing.
What was your biggest struggle in getting active? Now that you’re active, is it easy? Or does it still take effort?
When I found myself on the dirt and mud covered race courses, I realized I am more than my weight, my depression, or my past. I am an incredible human being with strength and some incredible friends and family that I have met due to OCRs and becoming active. I have learned that pushing myself physically is an incredible feeling. I still have a long ways to go in fitness, and being active is a long and constant road. I don’t think that it’s something that you just get to a point and say ” yep I am finished”. I think you have to make a constant effort to stay moving and going so that when we are all in our 90’s we can still be out there doing the things that we love. It is a struggle but I make an effort to get out there and do something.
What’s next for Lisa?
Her next big goal is the SISU24PNW next year. I had to look up what that was, and WOW, check out the video below. She’s also after an Ultra Beast Belt Buckle.
What an amazing story! Such an inspiration too. Lisa’s had all sorts of obstacles in life to push though, just like you and me, but she’s still pushing.
I want to say thank you again for sharing your story Lisa, I can’t wait to watch your continued growth! If you’d love to share your story with others, please send an email to Darcisfitkick@gmail.com or shoot me a message on Facebook or Instagram.
Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip
I should probably start sharing healthier recipes with you guys, like salad bowls, or other things of that nature. I can’t help myself though, I love finding vegan options for the foods I love. Initially when I transitioned to vegan, I was a little scared …
Hiking Up Half Dome 2019
Last year’s fires put a damper on my plans for hiking the John Muir Trail and also hiking up Half Dome. I had never actually heard of Half Dome until I signed up to hike the JMT. After hearing about how epically scary it is, …
Vegan Nacho “Cheese”
Wanna know what one of my favorite snacks was growing up? Other than a Snickers bar, the big one??? Nacho Cheese Doritos, dipped in nacho cheese and sour cream. Phew, it feels good to get that off my chest. Lol. I think it’s funny that people get surprised when I eat junk food, I’ve always had a killer sweet tooth. In recent years I decided to make the choice to eat better, and only have the junk sometimes, instead of every day. I literally had a Snickers and a bag of Chili Cheese Fritos every day of my senior year in high school. I know that my body feels better when I eat better foods, and I really don’t like feeling like crud. I’m definitely not perfect with my eating habits, sometimes I go on binges, but I’m always trying to do better. That’s all I hope for everyone. One small thing at a time.
Nacho “cheese” is still one of my most favorite things. I make nachos twice a month because I love it so much. Usually, I’ll skip the chips and make it on a bed of some sort of foo foo salad mix. I usually make a double batch of this because my kids love it also, and is amazing as leftovers. It’s really good over steamed broccoli too. There are quite a few ingredients, but the process is easy. I love how well my Vitamix blends up the cashews without needing to soak them. You should definitely rinse off your raw cashews though, they be dirty!! With all the health benefits in the different ingredients, I don’t feel guilty about making the extra sauce.
Have fun with your Nacho “Cheese” Sauce. If you’re making nachos, try adding new veggies. Worst case scenario, you don’t love them, and the nacho cheese covers it!
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Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup Raw Cashews
- 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 10 oz can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles I use original, but you can use mild if you want less spice.
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 3 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tbsp Sesame Tahini
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a sauce pan.
- Cook on medium heat and whisk continuously until it gets as thick as you like.
Recipe Notes
Sometimes I like to leave a little bit of the tomatoes out of the blender. I'll add them in to the sauce pan when I'm letting it thicken to give it a bit of a chunky texture.
My Three Summer Backpacking Must Haves
I’ve only been backpacking since last year. BUT, I feel like after spending 21 days with my backpack, I have a little bit of trail cred… I definitely learned about things I don’t want to live without during the summer heat. Speaking of summer, we …
Vegan French Toast
Breakfast is legit my favorite meal. I suppose that could be because it’s my biggest meal these days. Oatmeal used to be my go to, but now, there’s so many options. Maybe that’s because my pallet has expanded, I could probably list more foods that …
Broccoli For Backpacking
Have you ever tried backpacking food? The dry stuff you add water to? Well, I have and I’m here to tell you that most of it is a little on the bland side and not very healthy. When you are used to eating fresh veggies daily, it’s hard going on a long adventure without having something you’re used to. In my case, that’s broccoli. When I was prepping for the JMT last year, I was determined to have some healthier homemade foods out on the trail and found a way to bring my favorite along. The best part was it was super simple to make and just as easy to rehydrate and eat. A little salt and a little cayenne pepper, yummm!
I buy the $5 bag of broccoli crowns because I don’t like having all the broccoli butts, the trees are my jam. Plus when I’m not prepping for a backpacking trip it’s the easiest way to go, just throw them in the pan and steam them. When I prep them for backpacking, I chop my broccoli up pretty small and leave the butts out. I’m toying with the idea of making dehydrated broccoli soup, I’m sure I could use the butts in that. One of the bonus points or chopping up the broccoli smaller is that it dries faster, plus it takes up less space in your bag. Don’t chop it up too small because it’s nice to have something to chew on like you’d eat it at home.
My favorite meal when backpacking is my broccoli with Daiya Mac and Cheese. There’s something so satisfying about a creamy pasta dish with broccoli. If only I could make nachos on the trail, that’s probably one of my other favorite comfort foods. I’m going with the mac and broc being the fuel that took me to the top of Half Dome. #carbloading What’s your go to for backpacking adventures? There’s never a shortage of trips to go on and variety is the spice of life! Let me know if my broccoli recipe serves you well on one of your next trips. <3
Dehydrated Broccoli
Ingredients:
- 1 big bag of raw broccoli florets
The how to..
- Get a pot of water heated up while prepping the broccoli. Bring it to a boil.
- Rinse broccoli and chop it up.
- Once the water is boiling drop a cup or two at a time into the water for 1-2 minutes. Remove immediately and spread them out on your dehydrator sheets.
- Once all the broccoli has made it to the sheets, turn your dehydrator on to 135 degrees.
- It takes around 3 hours for the broccoli to be dry. I check it at two hours just to be safe, then check every hour after that. If you over dry them they get a sort of burnt taste.
- To rehydrate, bring your water to a boil and pour over the broccoli. Let the broccoli sit for 10-15 minutes or till its soft. I’d say it takes about 1.5 cups of water to 1 cup of dry broccoli.
Store them in an air tight bag until you’re ready to eat them. I’m not sure how long they will last but I had mine stored for a couple months before I made it to the JMT.
7 Ways to Get You & Your Kids Moving This Summer
Did you know that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity each week? That’s two and a half hours! For kids the recommended activity amount is even more time, an hour a …