Features | Veggin' Out And About

Super-Charged Athlete in Chicago!

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Oct 2, 2015 in The Super-Charged Athlete! | 0 comments

by Kate Strong

Competing for Australia in triathlon permits me to travel far and wide for competitions and this year, I had qualified for five World Championship Triathlons, three of which were held in the same city, in the same week: Chicago!

I packed my bike, my trainers and my passport and headed towards the Windy City for a whistle-stop 6-day trip.

Arriving two days before my first race, my focus was on race preparation: Registering for the competitions and getting to know the course, as well as waking up my legs from a long overnight flight from London, UK.

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Chantal Poulin-Durocher — Changing Hearts And Minds Through Art

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Sep 18, 2015 in Living Plant-Strong! Profiles & Articles | 2 comments

by Danielle Bussone

Canadian artist, Chantal Poulin, is on a mission. Driven by her passionate love for animals, Chantal creates huge, in-your-face paintings she hopes will not only fill the room with her evocative images but will fill your heart with empathy for the vulnerable animals she depicts.

My paintings are large because I want to give them the space they deserve. If I paint small it is just another animal painting. But when confronted with my paintings, they are so big you don’t have any choice but to look in their faces and feel something. When people come to my studio, they look at my paintings and at first they say, “Oh, it’s beautiful!” but when then they notice there is a tag in the cow’s ear or that the pig is in a truck going to the slaughterhouse, or they see the title “Please Don’t Kill My Friend,” then they begin to become uncomfortable. (more…)

The Super-Charged Athlete — Kate Strong’s Ironman 70.3 World Championships Race (& Life) Report

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Sep 13, 2015 in The Super-Charged Athlete! | 0 comments

by Kate Strong

Sunrise On Race Day

Where to begin?

It would be easy to start with something positive, such as “you never lose, you only learn” or “your greatest challenges hide your greatest lessons”, but this wouldn’t be just. I doubt that anybody during their ‘greatest challenge’ ever boasts a huge smile and says “I’m so happy to be in the midst of some brilliant future lesson.”

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VeggieFest Chicago Is What’s Happening This Weekend In Lisle, Illinois!

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Aug 10, 2015 in Living Plant-Strong! Profiles & Articles, Veggie Fest Chicago | 0 comments

VEGGIE FEST CHICAGO TO CELEBRATE

10th ANNIVERSARY

THIS COMING WEEKEND

IN LISLE, IL

Aug 15-16, 2015

Veggie Fest, one of the largest vegetarian food festivals in North America, will celebrate its 10th Anniversary this summer with another incredible weekend of family fun on August 15 & 16, 2015. The two-day festival, which drew record-breaking crowds of over 30,000 people from around the world last year, will be held in a new location this summer: Benedictine University, 5700 College Rd., Lisle, IL 60532.

“We’re really excited for the new venue this year,” said event organizer Jonathan Kruger, “It’ll give us even more room to make our 10th Annual Veggie Fest bigger and better than ever.”

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Kate Strong — Attempts A New World Record To Inspire Conscious Living!

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Aug 5, 2015 in Living Plant-Strong! Profiles & Articles | 0 comments

by Danielle Bussone

She’s at it again! World Champion Long-Distance Triathlete, Kate Strong, aka Strong Kate, is creating a conscious living/fitness event that will take place in Wales, Britain on Sunday, December 6, 2015. She will be attempting a Guiness world record for the most miles ever achieved in one hour on a stationery bicycle. The fact that Kate has never been on a stationery bicycle is entirely beside the point. I spoke with Kate about this curious endeavor. After all, she competes constantly in world championships, ironman competitions and the like. Why a world record on a stationery bicycle?

Kate Cycling

Society loves labels; like you’re a vegan, you’re a triathlete and that sort of pockets you in a place you can’t easily break free from. I realized there is more to life than living one or two labels and I didn’t want to start limiting myself. Yet, part of my journey and my passion is to inspire others to live more consciously through positive change in their own lives. The way I do that is by attempting what most people think is impossible.

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Kate Strong Reports On ITU Long-Distance World Championships

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Jul 9, 2015 in The Super-Charged Athlete! | 0 comments

by Kate Strong

There’s a special buzz in the air when competing in a World Championships. I adore mixing with the international competitors, flying to a new country and also, of course, competing in a triathlon!

There is a down-side which is the displacement from my home adds extra pressure in packing & transporting my bike, having limited equipment with me and also the pressure of correct nutrition.

I follow a whole-food plant-based diet, which comprises eating less processed foods, such as pasta, breads, gels and pre-packed bars and more fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and seeds. It is always a challenge finding a supermarket that offers a complete range of produce that I require to eat a balanced diet.

I was surprised to find that Sweden offered a limited range of whole-foods and due to this, I was obliged to compromise my diet leading up to the race and eat more pasta and bread than I would normally do.