Celebrating an all-natural lifestyle

And Then We Came to the End

Greetings from O’Hare

The flight departing from the gate next to me is going to New Orleans. I am tremendously tempted to sneak on it right now and go see Chloe. Unfortunately, I don’t think the stack of work on my desk in New York likes that idea. (And I’m not sure I’d like the 113 degree heat index.)

Mara and the roomstar picked me up soon after my breakfast post. For the second time in less than a day, we were Whole Foods bound.

Mara and the roomstar enjoyed yogurt and fruit

…while I dug into yet another salad beast (Gina, I think it’s sticking): marinated raw kale, carrots, celery, and pine nuts. They were out of the raw kale when we arrived, but I waited till another batch came out. Nothing comes between me and my raw greens.

Nothing.

Guess who strolled by as we lunched?

That’s right, the fabulous Bender. I’m sure she appreciated my snapping a photo of her just as she came back from the gym. You love me, Jenn. You know you do.

As Mara kindly drove me back to my hotel, she gave Gina and I what could have been a professional tour of Chicagoan architecture. Mara, if you should ever wish to stop shaping the minds of America’s youth, you might have a career in writing travel guides. I’ll publish them.

Parting ways with Mara and Gina was sweet sorrow. I’ll miss them! And after three days of being joined at the hip, it will feel strange not to have the roomstar by my side tomorrow morning. We’d better plan my visit to Orlando soon

In my typically foolhardy travel fashion, I planned on leaving for the airport a mere hour and thirty pre-takeoff. Mara managed to persuade me that this would end in tears. She was right: traffic was nasty, but it was made far more pleasant by the fact that my cab driver was blasting Johnny Cash the whole time. Thank you, cab driver, for making the ride badass.

As soon as I got through security, I set about procuring this:

Though Gina and I were just talking about how little we enjoy boxed coconut water (we’re both devoted to the real deal), ANY coconut water is a sight for sore eyes in the parched desert that is air travel. I chugged this down in less than a moment. And then, a little while later, I purchased this:

Blueberries and bananas blended with water, ice, and a packet of this:

Earlier, when Gina and Mara and I were at Whole Foods, I had remembered that the American Airlines terminal at O’Hare has a smoothie stop. I knew my salad beast would hold me over well, but not completely, till my late landing tonight, so I planned on eating something else before takeoff. I can’t stomach a big meal before or during flying—it tends to disrupt the Choosing Raw digestion—so lately I’ve taken to having a smoothie or shake, if I can, right before I hop on the plane. I picked up the Vega individual smoothie infusion at Whole Foods and asked the folks at the smoothie place to mix it in, and they were happy to. Vegan and semi-raw travelers, take note! Having smoothie infusions or protein powders of choice on hand can be the difference between a smoothie-snack and a smoothie-meal. I personally prefer nut butters and hemp seeds to infusions/powders, but powders travel better, and I think they’re fantastic when one needs a protein boost. Try to pick some up (or scoop some into baggies) before you fly. Vegan dining at airports is getting much better, but it’s still not a piece of cake.

And now, I speed toward my beautiful, beautiful hometown. Hope you all enjoyed my weekend of HLS recaps! If you missed any of it, you can find my recap of Friday night’s cocktail party (and dinner at Karyn’s on Green) here, my thoughts about the Summit itself and a recap of my presentation with Caitlin here, and a recap of today’s stellar Chicago breakfast here. I feel lucky to have been a part of the weekend’s events, and to have seen so many cool folks in such a short time (Katie: next time). Thank you, HLS organizers, for the tremendous hard work you put into the weekend’s events. We are all grateful.

And now, I think my neighbor on the plane thinks it’s a little strange that I’m editing smoothie photos. My cue to sign off and get lost in the new Arcade Fire album. I’ll be back soon with some regular food talk!

xo

Breakfast with Locals

Thanks for all of the interest in my summit recap and in my presentation! I promise to give you all info on how to view the talk when it’s available. Stay tuned.

It’s a beautiful day in Chicago, folks. My day started off with a nice workout in the Hyatt gym, a cup of coffee, and a little preliminary packing. Then, it was off to brunch in Logan Square with my Chicagoan friend Marc. Marc had suggested that we get out of the downtown area for a while and have brunch at Lula’s, a cafe that’s known for it’s fresh, seasonal, and local ingredients. After Mara confirmed that Lula’s is indeed much loved by those who know good Chicago grub, I was pretty excited to try it.

Lula did not disappoint! Killer menu, with at least two vegan/veganizable brunch items, and a generally fresh, healthy feel. I loved the heirloom tomato decoration (Sabrina, this is right up your alley!)

The menu:

After yesterday’s oatmeal mishap, I was sure to ask if their house oats (which were steel cut and organic) were vegan. They weren’t, but our awesome server assured me that they could be prepared vegan. And they were. And it was good:

I added some of the Justin’s maple almond butter that I found at my hotel cafe this morning. Not my favorite ingredient list, but it’s a good way to have some healthy fats at the ready when you’re on the go, and it sure tastes awesome:

Marc got the pancakes, which looked great:

And I think we both agreed that the coffee was top notch!

As was the view:

My only complaint was that the portion was a little small – I think I’m the only person I know who consistently finds restaurant portions to be far too tiny, rather than too large! So I followed it up with a bit of fresh fruit:

Brunch was refreshing in all of the right ways. After two days downtown, in tourist-ville, it was lovely to escape to another neighborhood. After a weekend full of food talk, it was great to switch topics to literature and music. And of course, good food is always restorative!

After brunch, Marc dropped me off at my hotel for checkout. Before I could go, I had to pack up all of my swag from yesterday’s summit! It’s too much to list, so I’ll let photos do the talking. Here are the vegan goodies I’m bringing home with me:

And the goodies that I knew I wouldn’t use, so I gave them to Marc:

As well as a beautiful and fragrant soap that Mara was kind enough to give me last night:

And world class Fitnessista macaroons from Gina. Wheeee! I can’t wait to eat these!

I gathered up my netbook and wandered around the lovely Millenium Park for a bit:

I love the architecture in Chicago:

Though no city ever competes with NYC for my devotion, I am so glad that I visit Chicago often. It’s a great city, and it boasts so many great blog friends. Not to mention two of my fave authors!

Now, I’m settled cozily at a Caribou Coffee, getting some work done in the glow of free WiFi:

In a little bit, Gina and Mara will pick me up for one final bloggie lunch/hang. I’m going to miss them so! I’ll be back with my final travel recap late tonight or in the morning.

In the meantime, a little culinary housekeeping: a few of you have tried out my dehydrator free energy bars and found that they’re not holding together (which makes for awesome grawnola, but not an awesome snack bar experience). Sorry guys! This wasn’t a problem for me, but just in case, I think you should try upping the agave/maple syrup to 6 tbsp in the recipe if you intend to make it – I edited the recipe to reflect this. You may also wish to add 1 tbsp more of flax to the mix. Also, do NOT forget to very gently cut the dough into bars after an hour, then let them go for another few. If you try cutting after they’ve dried out too much, they will indeed crumble in your hands. Good luck, and I hope this fixes the issues!

xo

Sun, Suppers, and Sublime: Florida Pt. Two

Greetings, all! I’m home!!!

Words do not begin to express my joy at being back. To me, the best part of any trip, anywhere, is coming back to my life NYC. Travel’s nice and all, but no adventure beats the adventure of living and working in the Big Apple. Period.

So where was I? Last time we talked, I think I was just recapping my fabulous dinner at Escopazzo. Well, that dinner was not my last at the restaurant, but lots of fun transpired in between. I spent my mornings in Hollywood running along the famous boardwalk:

And spent my afternoons doing this:

I may be married to the streets of Manhattan till death do us part, but I’ve got an inner sun worshipper, and she loves to be indulged.

What was I eating at the beach, you ask? Great question! Most of my mornings began with sprouted bread and raw hemp or almond butter; vegan overnight oats and blueberry-banana smoothies also made appearances. Packing for the beach was a bit trickier; as I mentioned in my last post, eating on the go as a vegan who likes raw food isn’t always a cinch; fresh veggies don’t enjoy spending hours in backpacks and beach bags under the sweltering sun. For that reason, I made it my first order of business on Friday to arm myself with some transportable greens. Enter Averie’s kale chips!

This was my first kale chip experience! I’ve wanted to make them for ages, and promising Mike’s Mom a quick and easy dehydrator tutorial afforded me a good excuse. This was a simple a process as can be. I began with a big bunch of curly kale:

…and I followed Averie’s “coating” recipe, which was inspired by a Matthew Kenney recipe, nearly to a T. I substituted cherry tomatoes for bell peppers, since that’s what I had on hand.

It’s a cashew, nooch, date, salt, lemon, tomato blend that looks something like this:

Making the chips simply involves smothering the raw kale with the divine cashew goo, and mushing it all together (not unlike making massaged kale salad, though messier). Smothered kale went onto a dehydrator tray and was put into the machine at 105 for 7 hours (overnight). They emerged looking and tasting divine!

Mike’s Mom and I agreed that the recipe was perfection. Thanks, Averie, for the inspiration!

My beach lunches, then, consisted of varying combinations of the following:

• Kale chips
• Pure/Prana/Larabars
• Tons of bagged carrots, celery, and cucumber slices, kept as close to the bottom of our backpack as possible for coolness
• Celery sticks with individual servings of raw nut butter
• Homemade raw trail mix
• Raw brazil nuts
• Lots of water

I would have loved some avocados to transport, but alas, we didn’t have any on hand.

The beach was dreamy, but the real highlight of Friday was a blogger meetup I’d been eagerly anticipating for weeks: dinner at Sublime with Melissa!

I’ve been reading Melissa’s blog for a long time, and I can’t think of many bloggers who are more honest, thoughtful, and fun than she. It’s been especially special to watch her write more openly about her eating disorder recovery in recent months; for those of you who visit her blog, check out the “side notes” tab for her more contemplative posts on the recovery process. It’s no easy task to bare one’s soul in discussing emotional struggles of any kind, and Melissa does it with courage and a genuine desire to help others who suffer. I applaud her, and I’m lucky to have met the woman behind the words!

Sublime is one of South Florida’s most well known vegan dining destinations. With its accessible menu and lavish decor, it’s a fun experience that seems to appeal to both vegans and omnis (Melissa and I had a hunch that the place was packed with at least 50% omnivores).

Check out that indoor waterfall action!

It features a seriously extensive and fancy menu:

With dishes that are both creative and familiar. There’s a whole list of sushi rolls and vegan pizzas, as well as filling entrees and sides:

No wonder it took us ages to decide on what we wanted! As we deliberated and chatted, we were charmed by the antics of our theatrical waiter, who nicknamed me “the seductress.”

Not sure why.

He also treated us to a magnificent amuse-bouche: basil polenta squares.

If these were meant to set the tone of the meal, well then, they were a success. Melissa and I were swooning over how good they were! Can you tell my tastebuds are dancing?

When we finally got around to ordering, Melissa and I were proud of ourselves for sampling a fairly broad range of menu items! We began with the “frito misto,” which were crispy cauliflower in a sweet chili sauce:

These were really tasty, but not totally for me. They were on the fried side (I guess they put the frito in frito misto), and also a little reminiscent of sweet and sour chicken, a childhood takeout dish I do not recall with fondness. The dish was also pretty huge, and we were both eager to save our appetites, so we didn’t have too much. With all of that said, I think the fact that the cauliflower did taste so much like traditional Chinese-American staple cuisine probably works in its favor when appealing to mainstream eaters, and any dish that helps people to warm up to veganism gets two big thumbs up from me!

We also got grilled asparagus, which were smoky and delicious, but still crisp. Perfect!

Next up, the main courses. I was craving vegan sushi, so I ordered two rolls. The first was the “dynamite roll,” made with Veganaise, asparagus, capers, and cucumber. The restaurant graciously made it without onion for me!

The verdict? Yummy. The veganaise was kept to a bare minimum (which was good for me, since I’m not a huge fan), and I loved the clean flavors. My second roll was even better! This was the quinoa roll, which was quinoa, carrots, and cucumber. Melissa (consummate sushi chef that she is), noted how remarkable it was that they managed to get quinoa to hold together in a roll, since it’s not very sticky. I agreed, and vowed that I’d soon learn how to make this happen in my kitchen:

My final entree component was the wonderful chopped salad: tomatoes, romaine, cukes, peppers, olives, and chickpeas, dressed with olive oil and lemon:

We both adored this! The only issue was that the salad first arrived swimming in dressing. I’m no shrinking violet when it comes to dressing: I like it a lot, and actually find it sort of annoying when people act as though oil is going to bite. But there are limits, and drippy greens are my upward limit. Thankfully, the restaurant didn’t mind sending out a lightly dressed second portion, and in split timing, too. Thank you, Sublime!

For her part, Melissa went for the “margherita classico” pizza, made with fresh tomato sauce and vegan ‘rella. I tried it and thought it was great–especially the handmade whole wheat crust!

This was perfect timing, since Melissa had a long run planned for the next morning, and she tends to choose pizza as a pre-race meal.

In all, it was an awesome dinner. I’d probably have tweaked a few little things: for example, using brown rice in the dynamite roll instead of white. But I love that Sublime offers eaters of all varieties an experience that feels tasty, welcoming, and desirable–not to mention service and decor that’s truly special.

And I especially loved the company. Melissa is a gem — so sweet, smart, and genuine — and I hope I get to have her in town for an NYC dinner soon. Here are our end-of-meal outtakes!

With flash (ew, but at least our features are visible):

Thanks, Melissa, for driving all the way to Ft. Lauderdale to share this lovely meal with me!

The weekend ambled on, punctuated with sun, with lavishing attention on Mike’s dog, and with long walks around the marina. On Saturday night, Mike and I drove into South Beach for a movie, and we decided to make a second stop at Escopazzo. Once was not enough, especially since I was dying to try the lasagna that Mike’s Mom had ordered on my first trip there! I started with a baby arugula, red kale, and sprout salad:

And helped myself to the spectacular cashew, zucchini, and tomato lasagna, which was adorned with shitake mushrooms this time, too!

It was wonderful.

On Sunday morning, I woke up early to jog down to Josh’s farmer’s market on the Hollywood boardwalk, which numerous readers and Tweet pals had recommended. I knew it would be sad to visit without being able to purchase any wonderful local produce–I was, after all, about to fly home–but I wanted to at least witness and support the farmer’s market in writing.

It was every bit as wonderful as I’d been led to believe! Gorgeous local fruits and avocados:

Crucifers galore:

Greens as far as the eye could see:

Sprouts:

Shrooms:

And roots:

As well as a truly awesome selection of raw nuts and dried fruit, all at reasonable prices! I helped myself to some almonds, dried apples, and dried pineapples to snack on before my flight later that day:

I also scoped out the juice bar. I wanted a juice like no other, but they were priced on the steep side: all $8.00 and $9.00! I totally respect that they’re organic and local, but this was above my travel budget, so I sadly moved along.

As I made my way home, I tried to erase the smell of fresh durian from my nose (durian smoothies had been on the menu). It’s a fruit I have an especially hard time getting friendly with. Probably because it smells like onion to me. (Shudders at her desk).

In the afternoon, Mike and I made our way back to South Beach for some last hours in the sun. We decided to have lunch outside on the fabulous see-and-be-seen Lincoln Road (which Melissa had recommended, too). We settled on a fun, Turkish-inspired healthy fast food joint called Pasha, which has several Florida locations. It had an awesome menu!

…featuring salads, falafel, hummus, kebabs, and smoothies. I decided to get a large salad with a grilled veggie kebab deconstructed on top:

And a big side of hummus, which I dumped onto the salad along with lots of fresh lemon!

In spite of the fact that my Yaya would berate me for dining in a Turkish restaurant (old rivalries die hard along the Mediterranean shores), the grilled veggies, lemon, and spread, coupled with my tan, made me feel quite Greek. Opa!

A few hours of sun and some street-side veggie juice later, I was on my way to the airport. Edge-of-my-seat enthusiasm for returning to New York waned over the course of a long and exhausting trip home. Apparently there were lightening storms between VA and NY, and we ended up circling Norfolk for two hours before landing to re-fuel, waiting on the tarmac for an hour in sweltering heat, and taking off again. By the time I reached Newark (instead of LaGuardia), it was 3 AM. I waited in line for a $71.00 taxi back to Manhattan in the chilly rain, and fought the urge to rip the cigarettes out of the hand of the woman in front of me (don’t worry, everyone, I resisted).

But today, I woke up in my cozy bed, windows open, horns honking, and garbage trucks ambling along the avenue. New York: it’s music to my ears.

Thanks to everyone who sent supportive tweets last night in the midst of my travel woes, and to you all for following my Chicago and Florida adventures this week. Thanks also to those of you who noticed, via Twitter, that this post went up a few hours ago, was accidentally deleted, and re-posted. Because of your Google readers, I didn’t have to re-write it! Yeesh: between the 3 a.m. landing, the torn jeans (I ripped a hole in my favorite jeans by accident today, and not near a seam, but a blog reader tipped me off to Denim Therapy!) this has been one manic Monday.

I hope to check in this week with a fresh recipe for the first time in two whole weeks, but work may keep me buried. I will do my best! Have a great night, guys.

xo

First Day in So-Flo

Hey y’all!

So happy that everyone enjoyed HEAB’s wonderful post on listening to your body.

Greetings from sunny Hollywood, Florida! I’m here in a puddle of sweat — I have NO idea how you Florida ladies manage to run as much as you do. My morning jaunt has me looking like this:

And I, for the record, am a non-sweater.

Let’s back it up for a moment. How and why did I get to Florida, and what did I do yesterday?

I’m here for a short visit with my dear friend Mike, who is studying to be a doctor in New Orleans. He’s exhausted from the constant barrage of med school exams, and I’m exhausted from work, so we decided to invade his Mom’s place in Hollywood (thank you, Mike’s Mom!). I arrived yesterday morning, a solid six hours before Mike did. I wanted a place to kill the time and have some R&R, so I decided to book a cheap day rate room at the Ramada Hollywood Beach, a historic resort on Hollywood’s famous boardwalk.

This. Place. Was. Unreal. Not in a swanky resort way, but rather a “I’m staying at the hotel in The Shining, except in Florida” way. It was perfectly comfortable and situated in a beautiful stretch of beach, but check out these spooky long hallways:

And period details:

Even I, unabashed lover of all things ghost story, was getting chills!

I arrived famished, having only scarfed down green juice and a banana at the airport thus far, and immediately searched for some lunch to eat by the pool. As many of you know, finding healthy options while one travels is no small feat. I found one deli-type shop that advertised salads. Sadly, by “salads,” they meant this:

Those would be scant containers of lettuce, served up with a side of blue cheese. Meh. Whatcha gonna do, right? I quickly did away with the blue cheese, and found (much to my surprise), a mini-bottle of this at the deli:

I asked the bartender at the pool bar for some lemon slices, and dressed my salads (because one container of lettuce was most definitely not big enough for me) with the olive oil and lemon. Since I’d anticipated limited lunch options, I also had a Prana Bar on hand. The result? This poolside lunch:

Was it the greatest lunch ever? No. But greens are a must-have after flying, and this was the best I could do. Under the circumstances, it wasn’t half bad — raw, vegan, and at least speckled with veggies. And I had plenty of my raw trail mix and additional bars for snacks later. I know that travels can be rough on vegan and raw eaters, but I also have limited sympathy for those who say it’s impossible, or that travel must mean taking a vacation from veganism. Where there’s a will, folks, there’s always a way.

After a day at the pool and on the beach:

Oh, how I love the sun!!!!!!!!!!!

At 6 p.m., Mike’s mother graciously came to pick me up. Here’s a fact about Mike’s mom: she’s an aspiring raw foodist! No joke. Mike’s Mom has been studying and reading up on raw foods for over five years. She’s taken raw foods prep classes at Hippocrates Health Institute, and she owns a dehydrator:

As well as a spiralizer, food processor, juicer, Vitamix, almond milk, raw almond butter, nutritional yeast, and sprouted bread. I kid you not. She’s also got quite an un-cookbook collection! I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to be staying in a kitchen that might as well be mine. Totally unplanned; totally unreal. I guess rawcurious folks simply abound these days!

It goes without saying that Mike’s Mom also shares my enthusiasm for raw dining. And as soon as I greeted her, she told me that she’d just heard about Escopazzo, an organic Italian restaurant in nearby South Beach that features an entire menu section of raw, vegan items. We had some time before picking Mike up at the airport, so we eagerly decided to check the restaurant out!

Boy oh boy, this place did not disappoint. Check the menu out online: you’ll see that traditional Italian dishes, like pasta and antipasti, are integrated seamlessly with a detailed selection of raw foods. As we deliberated over what to order, Mike’s Mom and I agreed that Escopazzo offers a wonderful model for raw and vegan dining. Because it’s not advertised as a raw restaurant, per se, patrons who wouldn’t necessarily be open minded to raw or vegan foods will find themselves caught off guard by the wonderful offerings. Raw and cooked, and vegan and omni options are offered together, so it’s easy for vegans to bring friends, family, or dates to the restaurant who might not necessarily agree to vegan restaurants otherwise. And it seems to reflect my personal approach in sharing my lifestyle with others, which is to entice them with food that is delicious and makes them feel healthy, rather than to make them feel confined or reigned in by a lack of options. Add first; subtract when you’re ready.

I began my meal with an arugula, pear, and walnut salad with a lemony vinaigrette. I ate around the pears, but the salad was otherwise perfect:

For my entree, I had an incredible “roll” special: eggplant and zucchini rolls stuffed with carrot and ginger in a nut butter marinade. It was gingery, tangy, non-garlicky, and amazing:

The presentation was also beautiful.

Mike’s Mom had the lasagna, which was layers of zucchini, cashew cream, arugula, olives, cherry tomatoes, and a drizzle of olive oil. This was also out of this world. I’ve been spoiled by the Pure lasagna, but I have to admit that it was refreshing to taste a raw lasagna that’s not quite so heavy and dense. This was filling, but light!

We ended the meal with two shots of decidedly NON-raw decaf espresso. Hey, I’m on vacation

Thank you to the wonderful folks at Escopazzo for a stellar meal. I believe so strongly in what they’re doing at the restaurant: serving up an experience that feels familiar and non-threatening, but doing it in such a way that omnivores have the chance to see how wonderful plant-based dining can be. Hooray for them!

And with that, my first day in South Florida was done. Today has brought some serious beach time, and it’s about to be punctuated by a wonderful blog dinner, but you’ll have to wait a day or two for my recap! It’s also involved some quality time with this lady of the house:

Mike’s sister, Dorabella

For now, I wish you all a great start to the weekend!

xo

Next Page »