How to fuel a plant-based triathlete

Dear Chicken Nugget,

I shared the following with some friends who were asking how it was possible that your mom and I could train for a triathlon eating a plant-based diet.  There's a common misconception that plant-based diets lack protein.  But the reality is plants have lots of protein with the added benefit of lacking cholesterol.

Here's what I wrote:

I was sent a message last night asking how I could possibly do what I was doing on a plant-based diet, specifically how do I get enough protein.  My answer is pretty simple: eat lots and make most of what you eat whole grains, veggies, and fruit.  You will get more than enough of what you need if you eat a variety of plant foods.
Of course, I'm lucky, I have a wife who agrees with me nutritionally and together we make some incredible healthy dishes so there's never the temptation of watching her eat fried chicken with a side of fries.

Today in Week 2 of Triathlon training I woke up to swim for 30 minutes, after lunch I did five sets of pushups totaling 68, and tonight I ran for 40 minutes.  Plus somewhere in between all that I did some work, read the newspaper, took Santiago (that's you Nugget) on an hour and a half walk, and went to the dentist. Granted this is during my summer vacation, but during the school year I would pretty much be doing the same thing, minus the swimming.

So, pretty busy day, how to fuel it was the question:

Breakfast:
1 slice Whole Wheat Organic Bread with crunchy almond butter and a drizzle of honey
2 glasses of water

Went swimming (30 minutes)
Walked with Santiago in the stroller for an hour and a half

Breakfast 2:
Brooklyn Bagel Plain with a schmear of soy cream cheese
3 glasses of water

Work, Read the Paper

Lunch:
Big Bowl of Latin Corn Soup (sweet potato, tomatoes, corn, hominy, red pepper, chili pepper, onion, garlic)
Handful of Organic Corn tortillas
1 glass of water

Work, Pushups (68)

Snack:
1 glass of iskiate (water, lime juice, agave nectar, chia seeds)

Dentist

Dinner:
Cous Cous with Lentil Salad (lentils, onions, pepper)
Bibb lettuce, tomato, cucumber salad
1 glass of water

Santi's bath, bedtime books
40 min Run

Snack:
1 cup of Millet with Raisins
1 Banana
Handful of Walnuts
2 glasses of water

Total calories: about 2600
Total protein: about 75g of protein
Total cholesterol: 0
Plenty of fiber

Is my diet perfect?  No.  But, it's plant-based deliciousness, fuels my triathlon training, I'm never hungry, it keeps me healthy, and helps me lower my cholesterol.


I wanted to share this with you Nugget because you're the primary reason we're eating this way.  My body makes too much cholesterol and my family has a history of heart-disease, diabetes, and cancer.  I refuse to be a statistic.

I am plant-strong so that I can stay healthy enough to watch you grow up, God willing.


Loving you with a healthy heart,

Tu papa

Happy Birthday, Abuela!

Dear Chicken Nugget,

On July 13th we celebrated your Abuela's 71st Birthday.  She would kill me if she knew I was putting her age in a letter - she likes to tell people that she only celebrates the day of her birth not the number of years she has lived.

We went to a Spanish Tapas restaurant in Manhattan:

Abuela Betty and Santi

We followed that by heading to the Children's Museum of Manhattan:

And then, we surprised your Abuela by getting you a professional haircut, you very first!

Before

 

 

After

Your Abuela thought it was the best birthday she's had in a long time - all because you were a big part of it.


Thank you for making my mom's birthday the best,

Tu papa

What to do when you lose someone

Dear Nugget,

On Mother's Day this year I called my mom, your Abuela, to wish her a Happy Mother's Day.  She told me, with a cracking voice, that it wasn't a happy one - her sister had passed away.

My tia Chabela (Aunt Isabel in English) was my mom's oldest sister, mother of four, grandmother of four, incredibly wise, and really funny.  She had been fighting cancer, multiple myeloma, for over a year.

My first memory of her was on my first trip to Ecuador that I can remember (my very first trip was when I was one).  I was traveling alone and had been told to look for a lady that looked like my mom and my Aunt Bella combined.  I spotted her in the crowd at the airport and she gave me the big motherly hug I needed.

She was my Aunt, but like any of my aunts, she was a mom to me.  I spent many summers in Ecuador, living at her house, and have nothing but the fondest memories of her.

She never got to meet you but she saw you in pictures and I told her all about you on the phone.

Writing about a loved one you lose is hard and that's why it's been three months since I last wrote a letter.  It's hard to process a loss like that.  But, we've all been working through it.

Here are my recommendations to you for what to do when you lose someone you love:
- Pray.
- Look around you for support.  Friends and family will be there when you need them most.
- Whatever you feel is OK.  Let the feelings flow.  Feel them.
- Take as much time as you need to grieve.
- Live your life.  My grandmother Maria was known to have people rolling in laughter at funerals, telling funny stories of the deceased.  She knew that life went on.  Keep moving.
- Pray some more.

You will lose people, Nugget, and it will be the hardest thing you'll ever deal with in your life.  No matter what happens know that you are always loved and we are always with you (here and in the next world).

"And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." - Jesus

Loving you, always,

Tu papa

Creating More Questions

Dear Chicken Nugget,

It's been a long week!  Somehow I managed to get sick at the end of the work week, just in time for our Spring break.  We're flying to Madison, WI this week to visit your Aunt Sara, Uncle Jerry, and Cousin Timothy this week.  Your Grandpa Dale and Grandma Sue will be there too.

I have a tendency to get sick right before vacations.  I have a feeling that it's because my body knows that I'm going to have time to rest so it pushes through and doesn't give in to the bug until the last minute.  Unfortunately, it ruins a couple of days of vacation for me.

I am looking forward to a few days of play time with you and your mom.  As you get older and become much more aware of your surroundings, it has been an incredible experience to show you new things.

For example . . . a box!  Yes, a cardboard box.  Your mom placed you in one the other day and you enjoyed it tremendously.  In fact, we now have a permanent cardboard box station in the kitchen for you to play in.

As we were learning about paper and boxes in kindergarten science, I decided to show my kindergarteners how you play in the box:

I recently started a Science Teacher blog called "Creating More Questions" for my students, their parents, and other science teachers.  My students love it!  They keep sending me emails about the website or asking questions about science via the website.  In fact, two students wrote a comment about you in the box, wondering how you got in there.  I'm using you to show them that kids (and some adults) learn best by playing. 

Nugget, you are a non-stop playing machine right now and you're learning so much.  I hope that by sharing your experience in a box we'll prompt another parent out there to put their kid in a box or prompt kids to build a fort out of the box or use the box as an imaginary boat.  The possibilities are endless, the learning is limitless, and the photos are priceless.


Thank you for helping me teach science,

Tu papa 

Mmmmm

Dear Chicken Nugget,

We've been watching as you grow and develop at warp speed now.  You've been munching on solid foods, scooting backwards, playing hide-and-seek, and babbling.

Of all the things you've been doing, one of the coolest has been watching you eat solid foods.  We've been using an approach to solids called Baby Led Weaning.  Basically, we give you a few solid foods at a time and watch you try it out.

Initially, you'll just explore it.  Then you'll play with it.

Eventually, it gets to your mouth.
  

You are doing an incredible job with it!

There are certain foods that you are absolutely loving: zucchini, broccoli, and sweet potato.

There are others, like oatmeal, that seem to just be a play food.

Still, you love food just as much as we do and are an active participant in our mealtimes.  Of course, it's also a little messier in our kitchen now but it's worth it.

Eternally yours,


Tu papa

Today you cried for Papi

Dear Chicken Nugget,

Today you went to the doctor and got another shot.  Apparently you toughed it out and didn't cry.  Either you're a tough little boy or you can't feel the pinch thanks to those chunky thighs of yours.  At almost seven months, you now weigh 17 lbs 14 oz and are 26 inches long.

When I got home this afternoon, your mom was holding you in her arms.  You smiled and bounced with excitement when I said hello.  I ran to the kitchen to get some boxes for a friend who was waiting in her car downstairs.  You cried as I left your sight.  When I came back to the living room with the boxes, you smiled again. 

But, again, when I left your sight and ran down the stairs to deliver the boxes, you let out a wail.  After delivering the boxes, I ran up the stairs and you stopped crying.  As I headed straight to the bathroom to wash my hands so I could hold you, you cried again.

It seems you really wanted to hang out with me and were upset whenever I left the room.  That made me feel special.  I grabbed you as fast as I could from your mom, you did your excited bounce (flapping of the arms included), and lay your head on my shoulder. 

It's great to be your dad.


Te quiero,

Tu papa

"bay-bee"

Dear Chicken Nugget,

Over the last few weeks we've been hearing you vocalize like a champ.  What started like a series of random grunts and coos are becoming serious practice for making words. 

There have been exciting fast exhalations that end in a cooing smile.  And, there's the long scream-like tones that would be interpreted as anger if you were an adult.  These are my favorite because they're usually accompanied by pounding on the table.

Two days ago your mom heard you say the "b" sound over and over again.  It's your first consonant!  Yesterday, I heard it too.  Of course to me, it sounded like an actual word.  I swear you said "baby."

I think you're brilliant. 

That's all.


Eternally yours,


Tu papi

a tooth!

Dear Chicken Nugget,

It took a couple of months but after lots of crying and chewing, your first tooth popped out on March 9, 2011. 

The second one followed just eleven days later.

Now, while most people are admiring your ridiculously cute smile...

... your mami's pain-center of the brain focuses on this...

OK, not true.  She loves you in all your cuteness.  But, I've felt your bite . . . OUCH!





Eternally yours,


Tu papa

the sleep routine - Part II

Dear Chicken Nugget,

With big work deadlines looming a week from now, a half-marathon in ten days, family worries, and general busyness keeping me from writing you these notes, I feel like it's been forever. 

There's way too much going on and it has affected my sleep and running, but there's always moments in life like this when everything seems to happen at the same time.  Luckily, deadlines pass, races are run, and relaxing times are just around the corner. 

In the meantime, I've been coming home and spending lots of awake time with you.  I haven't been getting to work until you fall asleep - sometimes 9:30pm.  Even now, it's midnight as I write this.  I've been working this entire time. 

Through all the work, lack of sleep, and stress, you've been giving me a beautiful gift for the last three nights.  In recent weeks you've fallen asleep with your mom.  But, for the last three nights, you've been falling asleep in my arms.  A couple of nights ago you had fussed a little, letting us know you were starting to get tired.  I put on some karaoke-versions of Michael Buble songs and sang to you while holding you and dancing with you. 

As I sang, you put your head on my chest and relaxed.  If I stopped singing, you lifted your head up and stared up at me until I started again.  Less than three songs into it, you were out.  It was adorable.

Last night it happened again, this time you were out in about a song and a half.  Tonight it took about four songs but it ended with you snoring on my chest.

 
So, yes, I have lots of work to do.  Yes, I could use more sleep.  And yes, I should resign from my position on any number of extracurricular activities.  But, through all that overloaded, overworked, overtired crazyness, I come home to you and your mom and get to sing you to sleep.  Totally worth it.



Eternally yours,

Tu Papa

Lent begins

Dear Chicken Nugget,

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and, therefore, marks the beginning of Lent.  Lent is the part of the church year when Christians prepare for Holy Week through prayer, penitence, almsgiving, and self-denial.

This period lasts 40 days, excluding Sundays which celebrate the Resurrection.  However, I tend to celebrate the Sundays of Lent by continuing on with my Lenten resolutions.  No days off.  

It's a rather serious-sounding season that I've come to really appreciate as an adult.  When I was young it was fun to see what you could give up for Lent and how long it would last: ice cream, soda, TV, etc.

As an adult, I think it's even more powerful than those New Year's Resolutions I like to make (by the way, I owe you $300 already).  I've come to use Lent to focus on my family, my health, and my faith.  Sure, I'll still give up "fun" things like television but I'll also do things that help me focus on what's really important.

This year my Lent list includes:
- No internet (on the phone or computer) while at home and you, Nugget, are awake - unless working under a tight deadline for work
- Eat a low-fat Pescatarian diet
- Do yoga or stretch every day
- Give thanks before every meal - we've grown accustomed to only doing so before dinner
- Complete the Sunday School Year-Long Curriculum

I'm sure that when I come home tomorrow you will be transfixed by the smudge of dust on my forehead.  On Ash Wednesday we are reminded that "you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:19)  It's an "in your face" reminder, literally, that we are mortal.

For me, it's a reminder that there is much to do in this world before it's my turn to go.  I hope a lot of that time is spent with you and your mom.  No days off.


Eternally yours,

Tu papa

Happy Birthday to us!

Dear Chicken Nugget,

On February 8th, your mom and I celebrated our birthday.  She and I share the same birthday, a year apart.

When your mom and I met, it was in passing. She was a coworker of two of my roommates and I was a one of four bachelor guys sharing an apartment that boasted a four foot poster of Snoop Dogg on the wall.

She would occasionally drop by for a school planning session or I would see her at a friendly poker game.  We interacted briefly, I thought she was cute and I liked that she could play poker and beat the guys, but we never really had much of a conversation.

Then, one day, at a friend's surprise birthday party she and I sat across from each other at the bar.  We were talking birthdays and she said hers was in February.  I said, "Oh yeah?  Me too.  When?"

"February 8th."

I smiled. "That's my birthday too."

As I remember it, we stared at each other for a second or two in disbelief and I made some comment about how Aquarians are the best.  And that was that.

A couple of years later I was having dinner on February 8th with her and your Grandma Betty celebrating our birthday.  A couple of years after that we were celebrating our birthday, getting ready to fly to Negril, Jamaica for our wedding.  And, three years after that... you joined us for our birthday.

Birthday dinner with Grandma Betty

The absolute best birthday gift we could ever ask for is you.


Eternally yours,

Tu papa

February: A Month of Celebration

Dear Chicken Nugget,

I haven't written a letter to you in over a month.  Please forgive this brief time away.

There was lots going on in February that I'll be writing about in the next few weeks:
- Your mom and I celebrated our birthday on February 8th (we have the same birthday!)
- We spent our first Valentine's Day with you
- We celebrated our 3rd Anniversary on February 18th
- I spent a week at home for Mid-Winter Recess
- We watched you roll over from your back to your belly - turns out it's harder than it looks
- I saw your first tooth and then watched it vanish
- We filed our taxes two months ahead of schedule
- You ate your first food (sweet potato)
- I officially enrolled in the Libertarian Party
- We taught you your first word in baby sign language (tickle)
- You started missing your parents

This list will probably serve as a sort of preview of the letters to come.  There was so much going on in February and I spent so much great quality time with you and your mom that writing my letters to you became something I kept putting off.  Of course, there's plenty going on in March, but I need to get going again and catch up.

I'll leave you with this, tonight as I pulled out "Ve, Perro,Ve" to read to you, you recognized it (it's one of ten books we read to you every day), smiled, and laughed in excitement as I read the title.

Looks like we have your first favorite book!


Eternally yours,

Tu papa