The System is Down

Hola amigos! It's been a bit. Maybe you're wondering what the hell happened and maybe you're just whatever. Either way, my beloved phone decided to die mid-navigation drive to somewhere I hadn't been so that was fun. While I had my (burner) phone, it wasn't worth the bad camera and figured I'd just let you sulk for a week and pick back up today! Insert Homestar Runner graphic:

Some of you will know what that's from. Oh, so many high school computer class hours wasted by not learning and watching Strongbad. But really, not much missed. "Summer" has kicked in and the temperatures lately have been getting up there but it's still comfortable. I definitely do not miss the humidity in Michigan, that's for true.

Let's kick things off by talking running. That's mostly why we're here, right? Last week was one of my highest totals since last fall topping out at just under 30 miles. Shall we peak at the numbers?

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No, you're not seeing double on accident. Thursday was a 6-mile day that I broke up into two-3 mile runs because let's face it, the treadmill is so lame. I slept in that morning, went to yoga and just sucked it up. Saturday was my longest run so far and I had the privilege of doing it with a great group of Nuun ambassadors from Arizona. If you haven't tried Nuun yet, you really are missing out. Put the Gatorade down! We had a great time running through the Phoenix Mountain Preserves for a bit and hit up OHSO in Paradise Valley for brunch. My first time at this place and I'd go back in a heartbeat. The patio is insane. I don't have any visuals but I'm sure Google can wow you.

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Which brings me around to some new things I've tried lately. First off, Dutch Bros coffee. When we moved here, I started noticing them around. They were always jamming, with drive-thru lines out into the street. What's so special about this place? Well, my friend swung in after our Saturday run. I like my coffee black with no frills. The friendly girl taking orders suggested the nitro cold brew. "Okay", I thought. "This will be good but nothing amazing I'm sure". Holy hades (Steph), I don't know what it is about their nitro cold brew but it's literally the best thing I've ever sipped through a straw that involves caffeine. It's smooth as molasses and they didn't overload it with ice, like I asked, which Starbucks NEVER gets right. Not only was the drink delicious, but they also gave it to me for free and even gave me some song and dance at the pay window. Dutch Bros, you definitely have made me a believer.

Which brings us to new thing #2: the Impossible Burger. With all of this press going around about Burger King adopting it at their testing restaurant in St. Louis, I was curious as to how it tastes too. If you're new here, I am a vegetarian but I still appreciate a good (veggie) cheeseburger with all of the fixings. As of late, I've been a Beyond Burger fan. They are delicious with tons of flavor. While at Thirsty Lion Gastropub at Tempe Marketplace, I noticed they had one on their menu so it was time to play judge. Insert not super appealing photo:

First impressions: it looks more like a normal burger than Beyond Meat. It also tastes more "meaty" as in, like beef. That slightly grosses me out at this point but that's just me. But when it comes down to it, it's all about flavor and the Impossible Burger just does not cut it for me. While this one had a good sauce on it and the usual burger suspects (lettuce, tomato, etc), it was just.....bleh. If you are meatless, I still suggest you try it for something different. As for myself, I am still a Beyond Meat fan. Do you have a favorite veggie burger? Let me know in the comments and I'll give it a try!

Let's ride the food train a little longer by closing out today with a new recipe! With the hotter temps creeping in, I thought it was a perfect week for an easy-to-prep, cold salad. We're big fans of anything thai-inspired so I turned to my favorite recipe website and pulled up a recipe for an Asian quinoa bowl with a peanut sauce! Simple ingredients and when it all comes together, it's just a fork full of yum. If you want to save yourself even more time, buy tofu that's already cubbed.

I think that's enough visuals for the day. Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you next week with some new content!