Worldfest

I just found this, and thought I had published it.  Perhaps not.  Better late than never -- it was written back in May.

Worldfest, a celebration of all things vegan, took place today in Encino.

There were lots of food vendors and yummy things to try. I enjoyed Olade, a low-calorie drink (20 calories per 8-oz bottle), and in particular their Tropical flavor. I promptly went to Whole Foods afterward and picked up several bottles. Rawsheed had great raw pizza samples, and this was an amazing introduction to his very creative line of raw cuisine.

For dinner, I needed something unique. So I hit up Strictly Vegan, a Jamaican catering company out of Rancho Cucamonga:

This was a spicy treat!  Gardein vegetarian chicken with peas and carrots, squash, rice and plantains.

And of course there were the speakers.  Rip Esselstyn was speaking as I came in.  He's the firefighter behind the book The Engine Two Diet, and the son of famed cardiothoracic surgeon Caldwell Esselstyn.  His talk basically can be summarized as:  It's not about curing heart disease -- it's about eating the right things and taking care of your body so you don't need a cure.  Amen to that -- the message that I try to get across to my patients on a daily basis.

And finally, after Ironman Lake Placid when I have more time, I want to adopt a dog.  I spent a lot of time talking to the folks at CalGAP, California Greyhound Adoption Promotion, who promote adoption of ex-racing greyhounds.  I asked them important questions like, with a doggy door can I leave a Greyhound when I'm at work?  Will the dog go jogging, and how far?