new york, new york

Ben and I went to NY last month and had a amazing time. It just might be my favorite city. I usually travel to the big apple a couple of times a year for work or to visit friends - but it was a lot more fun going with my love rather than traveling alone. We walked all over the place, visited the MET, saw a show on Broadway, and ate amazing food. In a city like New York, it is so easy to be vegan. 

So, here were some of the restaurant highlights...

pala pizza:
Gluten free wood-oven pizza? yes! I got the Etna pizza made with vegan cheese, tomato, and eggplant. For dessert, we split a gf vegan apple tart. The restaurant has a whole list of gf pasta dishes in addition to the pizza, and they use Daiya cheese which is soy free. I will definitely be going back whenever I'm in the city. 


pax wholesome food:
Pax is a chain restaurant with convenient locations close to Central Park, Broadway, and mid town. Their salad bar has the biggest selection of toppings and dressings & comes in two sizes...so you know I got a large. They also have fresh squeezed juices. This is a great place for a quick and inexpensive meal. 


cafe lalo:
Remember the scene in "You've Got Mail" when Tom Hanks realizes that his email love interest is Meg Ryan? Well, that cute restaurant she's waiting in to meet him is Cafe Lalo. I've been here numerous times to enjoy their decadent desserts and pastries, but I was pleasantly surprised to find they have a great gf and vegan menu, too. When traveling to NY, you must go here!

yaffa cafe:
If you're looking for a unique restaurant with an amazing outdoor patio, Yaffa Cafe is the place to go. They are open 24 hours and their menu features several great salads and vegetarian options. Located in the lower East Side, it was within walking distance to the apartment we were staying in. The service was great, the food was even better, and we loved it. 

babycakes:
An entire bakery dedicated to gluten free, vegan desserts... is this a dream come true? Not only is this bakery incredibly cute and quirky, they have amazing treats. I got this banana coconut donut, but I also had my eye on the rosemary lemon coconut cookie. It's not everyday that a vegan can chow down on baked goods. 


one lucky duck:
This restaurant is all completely raw vegan and has so many delicious options for gourmet vegan food. Their take-away menu makes it easy to get raw food on the go. I got the falafel with tabouleh and tahini/spicy dipping sauce, walked a block to Union Square Park, and had a nice picnic. 




What are your favorite places to go in New York? 

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Hola!

I had an amazing time in Costa Rica last week with one of my best friends, Brandi (from mucho mucho bueno bueno). We will both be adding posts about our adventures together so keep checking back for updates. Our friend Ashley came along, too and we celebrated my birthday all week! We did everything from surfing, zip-lining, horseback riding, white water rafting, and much more.

While we were vacationing, I did a guest blog for mucho mucho bueno bueno with an exclusive recipe! So, you gotta click over to their site to get the scoop. (I'll give you a hint: it's my new favorite kale salad recipe.)

Brandi and her sister Kelly have been telling the world all about music, style, hair, and travel through their blog. They were a huge part of the inspiration behind AWV and I think you should all go follow their blog, too.

Costa Rica is an amazing place and I highly recommend you go ahead and get there now. If you'd like any recommendations for hotel, travel, or excursions, send me an email at adventureswithveggies@gmail.com

Pura Vida!

Los Angeles

Look, it's me on top of the Capitol Records building!
I recently went to LA for work and had an awesome time. There is so much great food in this city! I was shocked to find raw food restaurants and juice bars all over the place. I could search "raw" or "vegan" on Yelp and find several options just around the corner from my hotel. You don't get that kind of variety in Nashville. 

So, here are a few of my favorites…

Euphoria Loves Rawvolution:

I'd heard Dara Dubinet mention this place several times, so I knew I had to try it. With a little spare time in between work events, I drove to Santa Monica to check out this restaurant. Taking my food to-go, I walked down to the beach and ate alone in the sunset. It was amazing. ELR is a completely raw vegan restaurant with numerous options of delicious, gourmet food. If you don't want to spend all day chopping, mixing, and dehydrating - let ELR do the work for you! I got a raw Italian pizza made with dehydrated raw onion bread, cashew cheese, and loaded with veggies. The great thing about dehydrated foods is that they are all natural, raw, gluten free, plant-based, and living!

Life Food Organic:Key lime pie… yes, please! This was the real deal. Made from nuts and limes, this pie was completely raw, completely vegan, and completely good for me. What I love about raw vegan desserts is that they are guilt-free! When you eat a whole-food such as fruit, you can eat it abundantly. I loved the layers in this pie and would love to try to make my own recipe soon. I went back to this spot the next day because I was craving some green juice. They had several fresh options, and I picked some spinach, kale, apple, lemon, ginger juice. Yum! If you're looking for a quick option, this restaurant has many foods prepared for take-away.

 

Cafe Gratitude:

Cafe Gratitude was about a mile from my hotel…so I went there everyday! They are another raw restaurant with an awesome breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and juice menu. Check out this breakfast - banana chia seed crepe with fresh fruit, coconut cream, and pecans…amazing. Have you ever added ginger to your orange juice? Jenn added a fresh ginger shot to my juice one morning and it was so tasty and refreshing. Two thumbs up!

Houston for the weekend

I flew home to Houston this weekend for a wedding. Although it was a quick trip, I am so glad I was able to go! I grew up with Elizabeth so it meant a lot to be there on her special day. She was so beautiful! 

This morning, I also visited Kristina and checked out Rawfully Organic - Houston's largest co-op! It was awesome. So much food and so many friendly faces. Kristina is not only an inspiration with her health, her passion and drive to work hard for what she loves is inspiring. Rawfully Organic's boxes come in a half share or full share - look at all this beautiful food! If you live in the Houston area, I highly recommend joining this co-op.

Unfortunately, we do not have Jamba Juice in Nashville. This place is amazing. All the ingredients are fresh and real - it puts Smoothie King to shame. I got the Orange Carrot Karma which is fresh carrot & orange juice blended with mangoes and bananas. Yum! 

I also love H-E-B. This grocery store in insane! My mom and I go here when I come into town and she is kind enough to let me go crazy and buy a bunch of stuff. Their produce is fresh and they have a huge variety of fruits, veggies, and herbs - many of which are local. I found some cherimoya! I've been hearing about this fruit from friends in TX and Cali, but I've never been able to try it. It was creamy and tangy, unlike anything I've had before. H-E-B has a huge salad bar which makes grabbing a quick meal easy. I bought some fresh spinach, cilantro, tomatoes, papaya, strawberries, bananas, peppers, grapefruit, and asparagus. I am set for the weekend.


Houston has so many good restaurants and healthy options. Hopefully next time I go, I'll have more time to do some restaurant reviews.

nashville

fido: This is my favorite coffee shop, hands down. They serve delicious meals and coffee, and they have an assortment of baked and raw goods - vegan & gluten free! This is a great place for breakfast, lunch, or dinner - and I highly recommend their coffee. Today I got the Vegan Morning Glory muffin (vegan, but not gluten free) and the Local Latte (made with local honey, cinnamon, and coconut milk).  

pm: This restaurant is located on Belmont Blvd, which is one of my favorite areas in Nashville. The chef was on the BRAVO TV show "Top Chef" and he always has new recipes on the menu. What I really like is that they mark which meals are vegan and gluten free - and they have a lot of choices! My favorites right now are the Veggie Fritters, Mixed Green Salad with Sweet Chili Sauce, and the Wild Mushroom Thom Ka Soup.

woodlands: This Indian restaurant serves and all-vegetarian cuisine. Their lunch buffet is insane, and they change it daily. They even label which foods are vegan, and their vegan Halwa dessert is amazing. Needless to say, I pretty much overeat everytime I come here.
mas tacos, por favor: 

mas tacos por favor: Hands-down, the best tacos...ever. Starting out as a taco truck, the owner would park around town and sell her delicious tacos. Now, she has a restaurant open 6 days a week in addition to the truck. You must visit! I got a sweet potato and quinoa taco, hibiscus tea (the watermelon aqua fresca and pineapple cilantro drinks are amazing, too), and cuban beans and plantains. Amazing!


the silly goose:


las paletas:

road trip

My best friend is getting married in Dallas, so it's road trip time for me and Benny! It is an eleven hour drive from Nashville, so we're splitting it up and staying with friends along the way. I'm excited to see Katherine in Memphis, Lily & Will in Dallas, and Treva & Josh in Little Rock. Here we go!

To save some moo-lah (and to avoid eating fast food on the road), we're packing lots of snacks for the car. The most important thing I've learned with this diet is always be prepared. Inevitably, I'll be getting hungry every few hours. If I don't have something with me, chances are I'll be incredibly tempted to eat something awful. If you're trying to follow a healthy diet, you'll quickly realize that the American food industry does not make this easy. Take a little extra effort and prepare meals, think ahead of time, and pack snacks. You'll be much happier for it. Remember, this isn't about deprivation or starvation. It is about the happiness you feel when you're healthy and happy.

So, we loaded up the car with a bunch of bananas, several apples, a box of grapes, some gluten-free crackers, carrot sticks & hummus, oatmeal, green smoothies, and several containers of salad. We prepared the salads ahead of time and packed the dressing on the side. This way, while one person drove, the other could eat. We had this system down! Our food lasted through the weekend - we were satisfied, happy, and healthy!

The beautiful bride, Katy.