Vegan in the apple becomes vegan in Chicago, for a few days

I recently went to Chicago to see my current favorite band Bastille,  everyone go check them out, they're awesome. What else was there to do in Chicago though?  Eat Eat Eat (though I did do some other things too!)

My first stop was Native Foods, which sadly, my photos didn't come out too well so I'm not going to post them.  I had the azteca salad (greens, quinoa, avocado, pumpkin seeds, currants, cucumber, jicama, mango, with mango lime vinaigrette), my favorite sweet potato fries ever and a carrot cream cheese cupcake.  Everything was delicious (& also things I had last time I was in Chicago).

The next day I met my friend for lunch at Handlebar. I got so lost getting there that it somehow took me 45 minutes to get there instead of the 9 minutes google maps said it'd take. Don't ask.  My friend had already ordered the fried pickles:

My reaction was "ew".  Never in my life would I pick/think/choose you name it to order fried pickles..but, I decided to try them anyway...THEY WERE SO GOOD! I couldn't believe it! I don't even really like pickles much these days, but these were so good.  I think the sauce (their homemade ranch) is what really made it good..but the breading was so good.  These were delicious.  I wanted more after we finished.

Then we decided to split the kale quinoa salad and the biscuits and gravy(which that was what I was most looking forward to. by the way..Handlebar has brunch EVERY DAY until 3pm!).

Kale, avocado, quinoa, pumpkin seeds..& not sure if there was anything else in it..I can't remember what the dressing was, but what I can remember is, this salad was delicious!

Next up! What I've been waiting for, biscuits and gravy with seitan sausage.

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It was amazing!! I loved how much gravy there was and the biscuits were so good. All I could think was "I want to come back and have these tomorrow" and "why don't they have anything like this in nyc?"  They were so good and the gravy was so tasty.  They were just delicious. Probably the best biscuits and gravy I've ever had.

After lunch, we walked to Wormhole which is a pretty awesome 80's themed coffee shop. They have a delorean.  They offer soy and 7 grain milk.  I just got this huge delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. If I lived in Chicago, I'd definitely hang out at Wormhole all the time. (I did come back another day and had tea and went again on my last day for another cookie.)All the staff seemed really nice too.

                                                              Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

Next up! CHICAGO DINER!

I really wanted to try their wings since they're made of seitan instead of the usual soy chicken or even tempeh.  They offer them in either BBQ or buffalo sauce.  My friend & I got it with BBQ sauce.  I was a little worried since I'm not a huge BBQ person, but luckily these did not disappoint.  They were so good.  I LOVED the texture of them, so chewy, so good.  (Note: I wound up going back on my last day and got the buffalo ones to take home with me..They were tasty too & not as spicy as some wings I've had (usually they make my eyes and nose run but these didn't, these had a very nice kick to them.)

 mmmm. (sorry, didn't take a photo of the buffalo ones, but imagine the same thing but orange-y looking). Anyone know of any place in NYC that makes wings out of seitan? I don't..someone should get on that!

For my main meal, I decided to try the reuben with a side of garlicky greens.  I don't think I've had a reuben in my life, they generally don't sound appealing to me and I've only recently gotten into tempeh which most reuben's are made out of.  However, like the wings, their reuben is made of seitan.  It also happened to be their 31st birthday and so the reuben was $6 I think it was (which the waiter said was what they charged in 1983). so why not try it?

Seeing this, it did not look appetizing at all to me..It really looked like meat! They use beets to resemble the color of meat..ick.  However, one can't judge a book by its cover, and one can't judge food by its looks and so I took a bite..and it was really tasty! I really enjoyed it.  I'm not sure if it would be my go to meal here, but I would probably get it again.  The greens were amazing.

& of course you can't leave Chicago Diner without a shake..and so I got the cookie dough peanut butter shake, which I've had before and it was as before, super yummy!

Also, like Handlebar, Chicago Diner has brunch EVERY DAY!  I came back a few days later and got the soul bowl which I've had before

I really love the soul bowl..garlicky greens yet again, avocado(added for $1), beans (hidden in photo), mashed sweet potato (also hidden in photo), quinoa and seitan.  This dish normally comes with tofu but I asked if I could have seitan instead.  He gave me about 5 different types of seitan they had to choose from! I can't remember which one I picked (think I said the one that's in sandwiches?) but it was delicious (hmm how many times have I used the word delicious in this post?) The waiter was unsure how seitan would go with the rest of the meal, but I loved it!  This time had the mint shake which I've also had before (I'll venture away from ones I've had before next time!) and that was yummy too.  Shared sweet potato fries with everyone and yum but definitely overate at this meal and felt full until even the next day! haha but it was so yummy while eating!

On my last day, I went to what was my first stop, Native Foods, I didn't do that on purpose, just happened that way.  Decided to try something different:

the Sesame Kale Macro Bowl, which had tempeh, steamed kale, brown rice, creamy ginger sesame sauce(very slight), tangy sauerkraut,and toasted sesame seeds.  It was very tasty (and healthy!) the tempeh was a bit bland..actually no, very bland. I'd get this again, but probably ask for a side of the ginger sesame sauce on the side, to have extra.

Got a side of the mac and cheese & that was yummy, though I remember liking it more last time I had it..it was kind of watery? wish it was thicker.

To go I got the Twister Wrap :  Salad greens, fresh avocado and cucumber salsa, creamy chipotle sauce and your choice of crispy, blackened or grilled Native Chicken in an organic whole wheat wrap (I got it crispy)

My flight wound up being over an hour delayed & I was so hungry, so I was very happy that I decided to get the twister wrap to go.  IT WAS SO GOOD!

I also got the brownie which I later had at home and that was delicious.

I am crossing my fingers that Native Foods opens in NYC someday soon.  Last time I spoke to them in August they told me they'd be opening in Washington DC soon, so would be nice if NYC came shortly after.  Their food is so good!

& that about concludes the food I ate on my recent trip to Chicago! 'til next time!

Run, don't walk to my favorite ice cream shop in the world

My favorite ice cream shop in the world is located at 516 East 6th Street, between Avenue A and Avenue B in the East Village.  This shop is created by Blythe Boyd, one of the founders of Lula's Sweet Apothocary.  The shop is all vegan, with so many options for flavors as well as toppings! (sprinkles, their own made coconut whipped cream, cookies, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, hot fudge, the list goes on and on)  You can get sundaes, brownie sundaes, root beer floats, shakes and more. Most of the ice cream is cashew based but they do have some soy based flavors. They have different flavors all the time (always have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry & cake batter soft serve), but the other flavors are rotating. It's always exciting going there to see what flavors they'll have that day!

I frequent it often so stay tuned for future photos from my trips here.

Here's one from a recent trip:

What you're seeing is cake batter soft serve with strawberry sauce, graham crackers and lots of chocolate sprinkles, on top of a brownie (which you can't see in this photo due to all the lovely sprinkles). Amazingly delicious.  I'm not sure what Blythe does, but whatever it is, it is magic.  I've been trying to stay away from eating sweets lately, but I can never stay away for too long from this place!

Sweets by Sweet

I first discovered Sweet at one of the monthly vegan shop ups at Pine Box Rock Shop(a shop up inside an all vegan bar in Brooklyn where local vendors sell their items).  I think they were at several in the very beginning.  I remember liking them a lot.  Over the past year I've seen their cream sandwich cookies at health food stores that I frequent (Natural Frontier, Westerly & Commodities).

I was drawn to the gingerspice ones (all the variations come in a pack with either vanilla cream or chocolate cream) I've gotten the gingerspice vanilla cream sandwich cookies several times and always eat them quickly.  I love the texture of them, they are soft and chewy and have a slight gingery kick.

Very recently they came out with a brownie (which I got to sample at Westerly and instantly fell in love) and I also recently bought the mint mallomar to try.  Here's all the ones I decided to try:

the almond oat sandwich was disappointing.  I love the flavor of almond and felt you couldn't taste almond at all!

the mint mallomar was so good, it's like a healthier version of a peppermint patty, it was creamy and yummy.

the chocolate sandwich was good, but just too much chocolate for me, I probably wouldn't get it again.  Was very rich.

as I've mentioned before, the gingerspice vanilla is the one I've bought several times, the gingerspice chocolate did not disappoint, though I think I prefer the vanilla one.

Now the brownie...oh my...this reminded me of a certain brownie I used to eat often as a child..it was AMAZING! I could not believe how good it was!!! Seriously. It was SO GOOD!! Definitely plan to buy it again very soon!

All of these items are raw, vegan, gluten free, no refined sugars, flours or oil. They are a bit pricey (cookies are $5 and change for a pack of 3, brownie is $5 & mallomar is $3 and change) but they are also all handmade.  The sandwich cookies come in packs of 3 and packs of 6. I stay away from the 6 pack as I always eat the 3 in a pack one after the other, so I know I'd do the same with the 6 pack!

For more info & for full products check out their website Sweet  (they also now have macaroons, truffles & more)

Ch Ch Ch Chia!

Chia Seeds! I love chia seeds. For those who don't know, chia seeds are a superfood.  They have more calcium than a glass of milk, more omega 3's than salmon and more antioxidants than blueberries! You can add them to your smoothie, salad, cereal or anywhere really!

From the Health Warrior website they recommend having 2 tablespoons of chia seeds a day, by doing so you get:

"6000mg Omega-3′s (200% of the World Health Organization’s recommended daily amount)
40% of the daily recommended amount of fiber
More antioxidants (more than blueberries) than almost any other whole food
8 mg of iron (more than spinach)
350 mg of calcium (more than milk)
190 mg of magnesium (pounds and pounds of broccoli)"

About 2 years ago I discovered Chia Seed Acai Berry Bars at a nearby health food store.  I liked them so much that I had the store order me a case of them. Don't worry, I didn't eat them all in a day! :) They're such a great healthy little snack consisting of only 100 calories, and 5g of sugar.

Over the past few months I've noticed more and more flavors come out so I decided to buy them all to try them.

All of them have 100 calories, except for the coconut which has 110.  Half have 4g of sugar and half have 5g.  All have 3g of protein, other than the Chocolate Peanut Butter which has 4g.

Coffee-This flavor tastes just like actual unsweetened coffee.  I like coffee ice cream, but I'm not a fan of actual coffee so I wasn't a fan.

Chocolate Peanut Butter-I usually love anything that's chocolate peanut butter but, this, I was disappointed in. Just didn't really have a choc pb taste to me.  Maybe there wasn't enough peanut butter? Not sure really but wasn't a fan.

Apple Cinnamon-This one smelled good! As soon as I opened it, I noticed how good it smelled, but sadly I wasn't a fan of this one either.  I couldn't taste the cinnamon, it just tasted like apple to me.

Banana Nut-This one is AMAZING! It tastes just like banana nut bread! It is SO good!!

Coconut-Tasted just like coconut,  very tasty

& as I stated before the Acai Berry is great. My dad said it tasted like raspberry to him.

While, I didn't love many of the flavors, the ones I do, I really loved. I recommend trying them, especially because they are healthy and not too sweet! I love the texture, and yes they can sometimes get stuck in your teeth, but they easily come out.

Soltero Bowl from Champs

For those who don't know, Champs is a cute little vegan diner in Brooklyn, NY.   The menu ranges from tempeh wings to sandwiches to salads and more and has a large breakfast menu served anytime.  The menu is large and I like that it's so varied. My favorite thing at Champs is probably the soltero bowl.  It comes with kale, quinoa, peppers, onions, field roast, mushrooms and home fries.  I got it without the mushrooms (not a mushroom fan) and without the home fries (I try to avoid eating potatoes other than sweet potatoes). BUT I did get avocado added! (& wasn't charged for it).

The portion size is considerably smaller without the fries..I guess the fries are the filler! but it is SO tasty and flavorful! I just wished the size was double what I got. I was still hungry so I ordered the granola which came with yogurt and berries and that was super yummy (forgot to take a photo).  Here's a photo of the soltero bowl which I definitely recommend.  The field roast sausage gives it a slight kick.

Quinoa Burgers

Originally I was going to just post a review of one quinoa burger I recently got into, but then I saw another quinoa burger in Westerly (health food store) that I had never seen so decided to buy it to give it a try & to compare.

I have recently gotten into these sweet potato quinoa chia burgers.  They are tasty and healthy! I am not too familiar with vegan burgers in general since I used to not like them, but my parents also tried these and they said in comparison to other burgers, the texture was very soft.  I like these a lot, my only problem is when I buy them I wind up eating all 4 in one seating, they're light though, so it doesn't feel like a lot/doesn't make you feel like you ate too much, but health wise eating 4 is quite high in sodium, making it 1,120mg of sodium in one meal! That's pretty bad..The American Heart Association recommends that people don't exceed 1,500mg of sodium a day (& cutting sodium to 1,200 mg per day is even further recommended to avoid health issues later in life).  Other than that they are quite healthy, though high in carbs (if you eat 4!) so I'd advise not being like me and only eating 2 at a meal!  They are quick and easy to make and to me they are tasty and I just eat them plain! (with veggies on the side)

I then saw this product a few days ago and decided to give it a try.  I checked the directions on how to make them and it said to put them in a toaster! That was definitely a first.  They are already cooked, so they recommend putting it through the toaster a few times (you can also use the toaster oven or oven but the first recommendation was a toaster)  Very unexpected. After about 5 minutes, maybe even slightly more, they popped out and were already browning and felt crisp, so they definitely didn't need to be put in a second time.   Now I know why this brand is called Qrunch,  this burger was definitely very crunchy!! I like crunchy things so I was a fan of the texture. (Definitely the opposite texture of the Sol Burger) There wasn't much flavor though.  I wound up eating it with tahini sauce.  I'll eat the other 2 but won't buy this one again, but they do have other flavors (spicy italian, green chile and a curry one) that I plan to try to see if the others have more flavor. These are also definitely heavier than the others, I definitely couldn't have eaten all 4 at one meal! These are sugar free and have more than 100mg less of sodium than the Sol burger, but they have more fat.

Here's a nutritional comparison (Sol Cuisine on the left & Qrunch on the right)

So delicious Plain Coconut Milk Greek Yogurt

The first product I want to review is So Delicious Greek Yogurt Cultured Coconut Milk.  I never liked yogurt growing up, and I never even had greek yogurt in my life.  I've been wanting to up my probiotics and thought it'd be easy to do that with yogurt.  The various So Delicious yogurts comes in various flavors and with those flavors comes a lot of sugar, which I'm trying to avoid.  The plain greek style almond milk and the the plain greek style coconut milk both have 7g of sugar which is less than the flavors (which have 10g and above, the raspberry has 20g! yikes).  I tried the almond milk greek plain yogurt last week and thought it was disgusting.  I decided to try the plain coconut one, and I actually liked it a lot! The texture reminded me of pudding.  It's smooth, thick and creamy. I thought it was tasty, but I decided to add some blueberries which definitely made it even better.

Now, unfortunately whereas regular dairy greek yogurt has about 12g of protein (hence why all the fitness people recommend it), this unfortunately has a measly 2g of protein! so sad.

Good points other than this being a probiotic is that it also has B12 and Vitamin D2! Also has 9g of fiber. I'll definitely keep this in my rotation of healthy snacks to have.

Can someone out there make a vegan yogurt that's low in sugar and has lots of protein?  It'd be such a perfect after workout snack!