My blog is one year old!!!!

Alright so first things first, I've been incredibly lax and lazy with my posts lately.  No real excuse except life getting in the way.  I can't believe the serendipity that I decided to post today then when I checked it out realized that it's been exactly one year since I started this thing.  Once upon a time, I was really unsure whether I could remain mostly vegan but it turns out that wiping out fish and other bi-products really wasn't as hard as expected.  I feel better, I'm more in tune with my body, and recently started a mediation and yoga practice!  Exciting changes are afoot.  The more I learn about nutrition, food and healing, the more I love it.  I am currently looking for a new assistant position (fingers crossed on one job in particular) and I think that this will be my final year as an assistant.  I want to look forward.  If I am not promoted within a year, I believe it may be time to make some real lasting changes in my life, namely getting out of this rat race.  I still love film; I really do.  However, working in this industry can have a disastrous effect on your health.  The constant stress and resentments that build up are toxic to be in for too long and I'm going on my fifth year of it.  Now I know some people are thinking then why throw away all that time.  I don't see it as wasted time though. Without this business I would have never made many of my friends or met the love of my life.  But sometimes you realize that you don't need to identify yourself by your job and maybe that time is coming for me.  Anyhoo, enough of that!  Let's talk food.

So first things first, I tried the Greek Gyro Bowl at Native Foods. It is described as: Our thinly sliced Native Peppered Seitan sautéed with shallots on quinoa, steamed vegetables, and kale with lemon garlic sauce and hummus. Served with grilled flatbread.

Let me just say it was spectacular.  The flatbread was soft and pliable, perfect for scooping.  The hummus was a little more like dressing because it was liquidy.  Just really a perfect bowl.  I felt very energetic after eating and enjoyed that I had some yummy leftovers to boot!

Next, Becca and I got Bistro Boxes from Madeleine Bistro.  Basically you get several meals delivered to you on Monday afternoon that you can reheat and enjoy at home.  I am a HUGE fan of Madeleine's so Becca and I were very excited. It's now been a week and we've gone through nearly everything.  We got a bit lazy in our picture taking so we only have the Mac & Cheese Casserole with roasted veggies.

I will admit the mac & cheese wasn't as flavorful as I'd hoped it would be. Mostly it tasted like the bread crumbs on top, which I think were cornmeal since I had an allergic reaction later that night.  However, that's not to say we didn't enjoy eating it.  Out of our box, I think it's safe to say that the "Chickn" Pot Pie with Biscuits was our fave.  

Finally, Becca and I headed to Arizona for Memorial Day weekend with my parents.  I was a little worried about the lack of vegan options but managed to find True Food Kitchen.  They were FANTASTIC!!! We loved them so much we ate there twice.  Both my parents even enjoyed their meals and they can be finicky eaters. True Food has both omnivore and vegan meals.  They also have an array of gluten free and soy free foods as well.  I was really craving a tofu scramble so I got the Tofu Scramble Wrap (with a Prana which is the most delicious cocktail eva!) while Becca went with the Halibut sliders (not pictured for obvious reasons).  The following day we split a roasted veggie pizza with no cheese. Yum.  What's great about this restaurant is that the staff was very young and friendly.  It was obvious that one of our waiters wasn't entirely sure what vegan meant, just that they offered vegan food.  However, he was very quick to ask lots of questions, such as is it ok if there is some milk in the sauce (answer obvi no) and other things like that. He really believed that vegans could eat fish! So here are the pics:

Day 6

Day 6! I can't believe it.  So rather than continuing my detox and drinking the protein drink, I decided to start to break the detox.  Five days was a good amount of time for me, though I look forward to trying this again in the near future, most likely before my wedding.

What I ate: I started my day with the berry drink and then my vanilla protein drink.  I went to yoga class at the Heartbeat House, which I loved soooo much. I haven't tried Kundalni Yoga before.  It was fantastic. I love the chanting and singing. Though the moves seem relatively simple (stuff like rock pose, frog pose, etc), it really did get my heart rate up and had some muscles trembling with exertion. I look forward to attending this class on a regular basis. I literally felt my head and hands tingling during the exercises.  It was great.

In the afternoon, Becca and I went to The Gentle Barn.  I must say that I prefer Animal Acres because it feels much more like a sanctuary than a business. The Gentle Barn seemed to have some lackadaisical animals that were motivated more by food than love and attention, although the cows were fantastic.

I stayed mostly on schedule with my Green Drink and VegeSplash.  Becca and I went to Real Raw Live for lunch.  I was ready to try my hand at solid food and figured a raw food restaurant would be perfect. I got a tofu pesto wrap and Becca got the chicken parm wrap.  First of all, the service was horrific.  Becca and I waited about 20 minutes in line just to pay. The women behind the counter were rude and unfriendly, especially when we said that we didn't want a smoothie as well.  Also, their credit card machine was down so we had to do it old school where they took an impression of our cards.  When Becca asked for a receipt, the girl said, "Abso-fucking-lutely."  Just not proper way to talk to paying customers. When we got home, I realized that the wrap was not raw at all as I previously thought it would be.  I thought the "bread" was dehydrated zucchini or something along those lines but nope, regular tortilla.  They also don't make the food in house it turns out.  Instead they ship it in from San Diego. So much for that place.  I will never return.

The food almost instantly made me sick, I think because of the tortilla so I put it in the fridge for some other day.  Instead I just drank my VegeSplash instead.

For dinner I made a quick steamed stirfry made of collards, celery, carrots, green beans and garlic.  I didn't use any oil because I was afraid it would hurt my tummy.  I ate about a cup and felt even hungrier than I did when I started eating.  It's the first time in about 48 hours that I've felt hunger pangs so obviously I restarted my digestion.

Tomorrow I plan to eat a salad for lunch. I will probably go to Native Foods and get the dressing on the side in order to make sure I don't eat much of it.  I don't know what my stomach can or can't take at this point.  I also plan to make some hummus (I roasted garlic on a whim last night!) tomorrow night and possible start cooking some beans.  I have been craving them for days now.

All in all, I think my stomach is a little sensitive so I want to be kind to it.  I don't want to immediately put the wrong food into my body.  I have lost 5 pounds and intend to keep it off while continuing to lose for my wedding. I am going to be one hot ass bride!

Native Foods does it again

I don't mean to be a total Native Foods whore but I really really love this place.  Today I tried the Wild Buffalo Wrap, which is battered Seitan strips tossed with Louisiana hot sauce, shredded lettuce, cucumber strips and tomato. Served with homemade ranch dipping sauce. It is intensely amazing.  Just the right amount of spice.  Thing is I'm really not sure what the calorie count on this bad boy but I guestimated on my iPhone.  I only ate half because I'm tracking calories in an attempt to lose weight for the wedding.  Becca's been doing really well lately (though about 3 months late to the party) so she hounds me about working out and tracking weight.  On one hand, it's faboosh to have someone in this with me.  On the other, it drives me crazy because some mornings I just want to sleep.  All the same, I have about 20 pounds to lose so here goes nothing...

Waaay Behind

So it's been awhile since I last posted, but lots of vegan goodness has gone on.  The funny thing is I am always taking pictures of my food and creations, but somehow never make it back here to post them.  So excuse the clutter but I got a bunch of stuff.  First of all, I finally got back to Native Foods to try the spicy meatball pizza!  I gotta say it was absolutely worth the wait.  The "meatballs" were amazing.  They had the most perfect texture ever. I don't know what Chef Tanya uses to make them but I bet that any omnivore would be fooled by these ones.  The only thing is that it wasn't very spicy as the namesake states but that does not by any means detract from the deliciousness.


Next, I attended yet another AMAZING class with the Spork Sisters.  This was a 50's TV dinner class edition in which we made seitan pot pies, mashed potatoes with caramelized onions and crunchy sage, succotash and chocolate peanut butter swirl brownies for desert.  First of all, if you haven't attended a Spork Foods class, sign up for one immediately.  If you can't because you don't live in LA, then go to www.sporkonline.com to sign up for their online classes.  I do both and I have to say there is nothing more adorable than the Sporkies.  The Goldberg sisters are so much fun in class and really are the kind of vegans I aspire to be.  I cannot say enough good things about them. This class also happened to be Becca's first Spork Foods class and she loved it.  Here's a girl that has dug her heels in when it comes to giving up all meat all the time and now she realizes how much fun and enjoyment can come from a vegan diet.  Plus, she finally sees why I suddenly took a new interest in cooking after attending a class!

Now here's the food!

I didn't get a photo of the brownies because by that point I had already gone into a food-lovin frenzy.  Also, they made amazing ice tea using tea they bought while in vacation in Kona!

Next up (and I sense a theme here), Vegan Pizza Day!  On Saturday the 29th, it was World Vegan Pizza Day with a number of places teaming up to supply the best vegan pizza possible. My ultimate blogger crush Quarry Girl reported on ZPizza as one of the options.  I had never tried this place and Becca and I were in the neighborhood running a number of wedding errands so I said we should go.  The WeHo location is clean and nice-looking.  The guy behind the counter was very nice and accommodated our requests (no mushrooms, double onion on half) for the Vegan Berkeley.

Honestly I gotta say I wasn't super impressed by this pizza. I think there was too little sauce, too much Daiya and the tomatoes made it all a little watery.  The crumbles they used were fan-fucking-tastic though.  I am writing my Whole Foods begging them to stock them because they tasted exactly like sausage, not that I was a huge sausage fan before.  But yea, the service was great. The guy gave us a free soda and was super sweet, but the pizza just wasn't great.

Finally, last night I made my finest meal to date.  Everything turned out perfectly! I made spaghetti aglio e oilio which is actually super easy to make.  I used spinach spaghetti then cooked 1/3 cup oil with 6 cloves of garlic and a liberal sprinkling of red pepper flakes. When the pasta was ready, I tossed it with the oil "sauce".  Then I made garlic cheese biscuits (yes, you heard me) and they were about a million times better than Red Lobster (especially on second day I found).  Finally I made some garlic spinach as well.  YUM.  This was all so good I didn't even get a chance to snap pictures. We merely inhaled all the food.  It was a left-over neither Becca or I minded reheating at work today.  My only warning is this is not a first date meal due to the excessive amount of garlic.  On that note, also no vampire dates for the aforementioned reason.

New Native Foods!

So the amazing and wonderful Chef Tanya added even more incredible items to her menu.  What's even better is that today (Jan 11) 25% of all proceeds go to the Stray Cat Alliance!  Just when you think Native Foods can't get better...

So there are a ton of new menu options, including spinach artichoke dip, spicy meatball pizza and Italian Wedding salad and MUCH MORE!  I went there excited to try the meatball pizza and was debating between the lettuce cups and the spinach artichoke dip.  I asked the woman at the counter which app she preferred and she directed me to the lettuce cups.  Unfortunately the moment after I ordered the pizza, she was informed that they were ALL OUT!  So I quickly had to rethink my options.  She recommended the meatloaf.  I've never really been a fan of the original meaty version but she totally convinced me so I ordered.  Let me tell you: not a mistake.

So first up, the lettuce wraps.  I cannot say enough good things about them.  Usually when I want a great lettuce cup I have to go to PF Chang's (which incidentally is the only really good thing on their menu).  However, these were super satisfying.  They were a tad on the messy side because they were overstuffed with food but hey, I'm not gonna complain about having extra portion sizes of deliciousness.  The best part of these lettuce cups was the sauce. I don't know what voodoo magic Chef Tanya added to this but it was completely perfect. Seriously I could drink the stuff.

Then came the meatloaf.  As I mentioned, this has never been a favorite dish of mine.  However, upon first bite of this I was reformed.  The texture was spot-on.  I'm not sure what coats the outside but I think it's some kind of cranberry glaze which adds a hint of sweetness.  I usually don't love cranberry either but this was perfect.  Then add the fact that jammed into the middle is coconut mashed yams, well I think that's 'nuff said.  This dish blew me away.


I can't wait to go back and taste the other tasty new treats!

Native Reuben

Oh my gosh!  I just had the pleasant experience of taste-testing one of Chef Tanya's newest creations at Native Foods: the Reuben.  Please don't let the picture fool you. My silly iPhone camera does not do this masterpiece justice.  Seriously ever since the Meet Market closed, I've wondered where I could find a decent Reuben (although I will admit I make a pretty decent one myself).  The trick is the seitan, which I've never been a huge fan of.  However, I don't know what voodoo magic Chef Tanya has done, but it most certainly tastes amazing.  See for yourself.

Now my only (minor) criticisms are that this bad boy was a supremely messy eat.  Because there was so much Russian dressing, it was difficult managing to get it in my mouth and not on my skirt.  So remember that this is a minimum three-napkin kind of sandwich.  Next, there wasn't as much sauerkraut as I would have liked. However, I will just share that I am in love with sour foods so I usually overdo the sauerkraut at home.  So with this being said, next time -- and believe me there WILL  be a next time -- I will ask for the dressing on the side and extra sauerkraut.

I teamed the reuben with the dill potato salad.  It was good but not Flore good.  The potatoes were a little bit harder than I like so it felt sort of borderline raw to me.  But hey, I still ate nearly all of it so it wasn't all bad.

So there you have it. I have nothing but love for Native Foods.

Long weekend

So this weekend Becca and I headed to Palm Springs to celebrate our independence. We stopped at the Dinosaur museum on the way because she's been pestering me for months to go. It turned out to be a really good time. We broke the law and hopped the fences so we could pose with a baby brontosaurus (pics coming soon) and sit on a turtle's back. We climbed into the T-Rex's mouth just like in the movie and were told that evolution isn't real...wait what? Yes it seems the Dino Museum has been turned into a creationist museum instead. It provided lots of giggles for us as we looked at fully armor-clad knights battling dinosaurs and lions all at once. 

We stayed at the Travlodge.  It was cool enough as we spent most of our time in the pool. (Pics will not be coming soon lol)  Sadly we left with a slight layer of color but only distinguishable by the stark white bathing suit lines. I believe most people would still call us very pale.

What I was most excited about was eating at the Palm Springs Native Foods, which I heard was slightly different. It was fabulous as always.  We ended up eating there three times in three days (this was Becca's first try so she was excited to try some tasty vegan food.)  The desserts were what really made this trip memorable. We had the chocolate love pie. This pudding-like chocolaty goodness was spectacular but the almond spiced crust was clearly the winner as we battled forks to get each bite. The chocolate chips felt a little excessive but we were happy to eat around them.

The next dessert was the strawberry shortcake parfait. This was the perfect combination of sweet and sour. I have no idea what Chef Tanya made that silky parfait from but if it's in her cookbook, then I need to own a copy as soon as possible. The other very cool thing about our multiple Native Foods visits was that Chef Tanya herself made an appearance on the 5th. She chatted up an elderly man at the table beside us. Because we were busy stuffing our faces we didn't get a chance to say hello but she seemed very nice and approachable.

Next on our vegan Palm Springs tour was Nature's Cafe.  This is a tiny cafe situated in a corner of a health food store.  The wait was long because each meal is made completely from scratch. Becca got the burrito while I chose the garlic ginger stirfry. Mmmm, they were both great. Becca can be a bit snobby about the simplicity of lots of vegan food but she enjoyed this wrap very much (though she isn't a huge fan of alfalfa sprouts, I thought they were great).  I loved my stirfy especially with a few sprays of Bragg Amino Acids. We finished our meal out with a couple of Rice Dream ice cream sandwiches.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that our Independence Day was free of fireworks and slaughter, both of which I'm good without! :)

Weekend

This weekend was jam packed for Becca and me. We had a thousand errands to run, some in the valley, some in Culver City so basically the gamut since we live on the East Side. However, I finally visited Surfas, which wasn't as large as I was led to believe. However, I did get the pine nuts necessary to make avocado pesto pasta, which I will make tonight. None of this is important of course. What is cool is that I finally got to try Meet Market.  Per quarrygirl.com, I chose to order the Reuben.  It was so incredibly delicious, although I'm not a huge Tofurky fan in general. The sauerkraut and beets were so good.


 Meanwhile Becca chose the "chicken salad" sandwich. It was quite possibly better than mine, although much much messier. You can see her fully enjoying it here. It was almost creepy how well the chicken was mimicked in this dish. It really tasted like chicken salad. The cool thing about the Meet Market, besides the fact that we got in and out for under $11 for both of us, is that they also carry an assortment of vegan products, like Daiya and Teese cheeses for cheaper than Whole Foods.  The girl behind the counter was very nice and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The best part was how comfortably full I felt. I wasn't stuffed but totally satiated.  An epic win in my book for the Meet Market. I will be going back for sure.

Today I ate at Native Foods again.  This is my third time since I discovered this place. It is really just that good. Each time I try to order something different and I've been rewarded each time. This is the first time that I didn't order chili in some form (by the bowl or over fries) but I felt like I needed to branch out. Today I chose the OC Raw Chopper Salad. The lemony dressing was the perfect accompaniment to the greens, cucumber, carrots, almonds, beets and sprouts. I splurged and also ordered the black beans, which were cooked to perfection. The entire meal was lovely and very complimentary.  Again walking out, I realized that I felt full but not overly so. I was satisfied. It's not three, almost four, hours later and I still feel happily filled. Of course this doesn't stop me from daydreaming about Chef Chole's avocado pesto pasta recipe that I will attempt tonight...