Celebrity Spotlight: John Salley

Sunday dawned bright and beautiful and for most, it was just another day.  But for me, it was the day I'd been waiting for all month.  It was the day I was going to see John Salley speak at VegFest!  (You can read about the VegFest highlights in my last post.)

Now, in case you don't know who he is, John Salley is a former Detroit Piston "Bad Boy" who also went on to play for the Bulls and the Lakers over his 15-year NBA career during which he won 4 championships.  Since retiring from the NBA in 2000 he has done work in television and film.  He has become a wellness advocate involved in nutrition eduction and has been working to encourage people to live healthier by adopting vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.  He is involved in PETA and PCRM.  And he's a vegan!  A RAW vegan!

Aren't you impressed that this 6'11", 252 lb. athlete is a raw vegan?!? 

Jaime and I had some of the best seats in the house - 3rd row center!  John's introduction could have been quite lengthy (he has accomplished quite a bit in his lifetime, wouldn't you say?); however, he asked for it to be kept simple: 

"Four-time NBA Champion and all-around nice guy - John Salley!"

John's presentation this year was entitled "What Does Being Healthy Mean?" and he spoke about the importance of following a vegan diet, eating food that is farm-fresh, and not putting chemicals into your body under the guise of food.  Example - If it looks like plastic, feels like plastic, but tastes like licorice, it can't be good for you.  It's never been near a farm and it's not food!

He talked about about how we have been brainwashed by the media to think that we like the taste of certain foods, like meat.  Or that we don't like the taste of certain foods, like broccoli.  We need to be un-brainwashed.  We feel good when we eat food that is good for us.  We feel bad when we eat food that is bad for us.  It's that simple.

He was very laid-back and casual and made excellent points.  Because I am vegan, there wasn't anything new for me to hear but I could have sat and listened to him talk all day.  He was just so real and down to earth.  He talked about how great he feels and how he only weighs 2 pounds more than he weighed in 1989.  And without even trying.  Just by eating a healthy, vegan diet.  How many people can say that?

Did I mention he was funny?  He was.  He was hilarious!    

John also talked about dining at Inn Season and Seva while in the Detroit area, as well as his passion for wine.  Really, what's not to love about the guy?

I really wish that some of my guy friends from the gym could hear him talk.  The guys who give me a hard time about where I get my protein.  The guys who might go veggie now and again but still insist that they "need their meat."  The guys who have to reward themselves with a steak dinner after a big race.  If John Salley - at 6'11" and 250 lbs. - can manage to get enough protein on a vegan diet, then surely they can too!  But John Salley would tell them in a much funnier, nicer, less in-your-face way than I ever could.  (John, are you free on Saturday mornings, say 9:30 a.m., for a post-Boot Camp intervention?  Ha ha, just kidding!)

After his presentation, John skillfully answered a few questions and then his time was up.  Jaime and I hurried out so we could get in line for a photo op.  (He promised that with a photo would come a butt grab.  I was pretty sure he was joking but hope springs eternal.  Sadly, it didn't happen.)

We were so nervous waiting to meet him!  Thankfully we didn't have to wait long (we were the 9th and 10th people in line - Jaime let me go ahead of her).  I usually don't know what to say when I think of meeting someone famous but this time I decided to be bold.  When it was finally my turn I introduced myself and told John that I loved his presentation and that I wished some of my guy friends from the gym could hear him talk.  Then I said I'd be posting about it on my vegan blog and I'd put a link to his website.  He gave me his email address and said to email him the link.  He said the email would go to him personally.  John Salley is going to read my blog!!  How exciting is that?!?  

Answer: VERY EXCITING.

Here are the photos from our encounter.

John signing his autograph (note the volunteer checking her watch as I'm already taking up a good deal of his time!)

John telling me to email him my blog (note my disbelief at this thrilling turn of events!)

All smiles!

Jaime's turn

Some post-Salley excitement

Two lucky gals!

It was an exhilarating day!  This was the 4th year that John has been a presenter at VegFest and I hope that he returns again next year.

For more information on John Salley, visit his website at johnsalley.com.  You can check out his videos, blog, and "like" him on Facebook.  You know I did!

Michigan VegFest '12

Today I attended my 4th VegFest (which, coincidentally, also marks my 4th Veganversary).  Last year I wrote a, uh, less than stellar review of the event.  Based on that experience, I wasn't getting my hopes up again about this year.  I knew I had to go - I couldn't NOT go - but I wasn't going to get frustrated if it was disorganized ("serenity now"), there were long lines ("serenity now"), or there was an obnoxious man in a cow suit trying to scare people into the PETA booth ("SERENITY NOW!").  

Jaime said she would go with me again and we both decided this would be the year that we would finally go and see John Salley.  He has been a presenter every year that we've gone, but for one reason or another, we just haven't made it to his presentation.  Not this year.  We weren't going to let another VegFest slip by without seeing John Salley.  (FYI - Jaime had already met him once at Dunham's back when he was a Bad Boy; this would be my first encounter.)

So although we didn't want to get our hopes up about VegFest, we sure had our hopes up about John Salley!  In fact, Jaime arrived an HOUR EARLY to my house, she was so excited!  Although it meant I didn't have time to do my hair - I didn't want to make her wait around while I slaved over the flat iron - it gave us plenty of time to stop for coffee to get fueled up for the day.

Aside from a bit of disorganization upon entry, it was a relatively smooth operation.  It was much more spacious and spread out than last year, making it easier to get to vendors and food samples without having to wait in ridiculously long lines.  People seemed friendlier, more laid-back, and they weren't hogging all the food samples.

I met some really friendly veggies (much better than last year's cow!)

I had all the best intentions to take pictures of every bite and document its place of origin before I put it in my mouth; however, that didn't exactly happen.  Here's what I had to the best of my memory:

From Krishna: 

Khaman - chickpea batter steamed with sesame & mustard seeds, cilantro, and coconut as garnish

Mix Lentil Curry - chickpea, pigeon pea, adzuki bean in mung bean curry

Upton's Naturals was there serving up some of their seitan crumbles.  I didn't try any thisyear because I've had them before.  What was new was their wraps. There were three to choose from.  I had the chipotle and Jaime tried thechicken bacon ranch.  I can't remember the third flavor.  It was allso overwhelming and exciting that they were all vegan!  Both of the oneswe tried were very meaty and flavorful - delish!  I didn't get to ask butI think these must be a new product because I think I saw some packages but Iwasn't finding anything about them on the website.  Anyone know??

From Russell Street Deli: House-Made Black Eyed Pea and Collard Green Soup

Apple Rosemary Pecan granola - a winning flavor combo!  Pick up some of this low-fat Michigan-made granola at Eastern Market.

We had some tasty desserts, though we controlled ourselves better than in past years.  Not pictured but tasted was some lemon cake from Patisserie Ci, and delicious chocolate mousse from Whole Foods, and several other small bites, including a strawberry muffin, a scone, chocolate silk pie, a cookie, applesauce.  Hmmm, perhaps we didn't control ourselves so well after all . . .

Mini Oreo Clusters from Schakolad

Lily Reid Vegan Treats

After all of our eating we stopped at Herbivore Clothing Company to buy a shirt that I've had my eye on for a couple of years online but wasn't sure about the sizing.  I was so excited to see it in person!  While I was at it I also bought a sticker and a button.  How can you resist that pig?

 

And then . . . it was time.  Time to see John Salley.  He's too big to tell you about it in this post.  (Literally - he's a giant!)  He deserves a post of his own.  So, to build excitement, I'll leave you with this photo of my reaction to seeing him in the hallway.  (Well, a reenactment of my reaction.)  Please note that I'm 99.9% sure he saw this reaction from across the hallway, we locked eyes, and he smiled directly at me.  It was a magical moment.

Yes, I am actually clutching my heart!

My next post will be a Celebrity Spotlight edition on John Salley and I promise there will be photos!

Free samples given out at the end

Did you go to VegFest this year? 

Michigan VegFest '11

In a previous post, I promised to give a review of VegFest with pictures and details about great new foods and products from the expo.  Sadly, I don’t have a lot of good things to share.  As I sit at my computer, I have been typing, deleting, and retyping, trying to give a good description that is not too harsh, nor too long.  (I tend to get wordy and overly descriptive – it’s the English major in me.)  To keep it simple, I finally decided to do a, ahem, brief bulleted list.

Thumbs up for:

· New location – Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi

· Keynote speaker – chef Tal Ronnen

· Featured speaker – former Detroit Piston John “The Vegan” Salley 

Thumbs down for:

· Organization – Or lack thereof.  I shouldn’t be the one telling VegMichigan volunteers that members get in free.

· Spacing and set up – Even though it was at a large expo center, VegFest only utilized about ½ of the space and had all the tables very close together.  You could barely walk down the aisle, let alone get to the tables.  Having all the food and non-food tables mixed together didn't help.

· Food samples – Vendors were out of food by 2:00 and the event went until 5:00. 

· PETA – A man dressed as a cow was trying to force people into the animal cruelty area, telling people that if they don’t want to see it they shouldn’t be there.

· “Ultimate Green Smoothie” demo – The speaker said that all you need to eat is fruit to get all your fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals for the day.  Even just half an avocado is more fat than your body needs and you can forget about nuts!  It’s irresponsible to have someone spewing that sort of garbage to people who are potential new vegetarians and vegans.

· Canola oil – Tal, who cooked for Oprah’s 21-day cleanse and teaches classes at Le Cordon Bleu, was given a plastic bottle of canola oil for his soup.  Really, VegMichigan?  Really??  No olive oil?  How embarrassing! 

· No Cupcake Station – Or any cupcakes, for that matter.  How could there not be cupcakes?

· Goodie bags – Pretty lame this year.  GladCorn, an Alternative Baking Company cookie, a packet of sugar and a packet of tea.  These are all tasty things but in the past there have been more samples.

· Idiots – People, this is an expo.  You can’t expect to stand in one line and just parade past each table.  I swear, if anyone thought you were trying to cut you were elbowed faster than you can say “tempeh.”  Also, if you see that there are only 5 chocolate samples left on the table, do not take 4 of them for yourself.  And finally, if Tal Ronnen says he’s not a doctor and he won’t answer health-related questions, please don’t continue to barrage him with queries about your low-sodium and low-fat diet.  Let the man cook, for crepes sake! 

I really did enjoy hearing Tal speak and I sampled a few delicious foods so I’ll detail those highlights in my next post.

Did you attend this year’s VegFest?  What did you think?