Thursday, June 28, 2012

Product review: Zimt Artisan Chocolates

A few weeks ago, Ethical Deal had a daily deal for Zimt Artisan Chocolates.  Zimt chocolate is raw, vegan and fair trade gourmet chocolate that will make your heart melt and your taste buds sing. I honestly can't remember any chocolate I've had that tastes as amazing as Zimt.  Its not your average chocolate. Its gourmet. :)

Its a raw product and is sweetened with coconut nectar. The only thing in there is cocoa and coconut. There is no refined sugars, no fillers, just amazingness. Even the packaging is ethical. Its biodegradable, organic and eco-friendly. Its truly a product that you can feel good about buying and that makes you feel on top of the world!!!! If you have a chocolate fetish like I do then you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.


With the deal, I got 3 bars. Chocolate coconut crisp, salt of the earth and sugar and spice. All amazing! But I'd have to say that the chocolate coconut crisp is my fave. And although I really loved the salt of the earth, its not crazy salty or anything, it was my least fave. Just a personal preference thing though. I just don't do salty chocolate. I know some peeps who love it. And believe me, I did not waste it by any means. I ate the ish outta these bars.

I chose to pick up the bars at my FAVE vegan bakery Fairy Cakes on Fraser. So of course I had to grab a couple goodies. One of them had a cookie baked INSIDE!!! How she does it, I don't know but I feel like its magic. 

Gluten free cookies

Chocolate w/ Pina colada and Vanilla w/ cherry and a cookie
These cupcakes were also gluten free. They have just regular vegan ones too but I opted for gluten free........this time. lol I didn't eat lunch this day. Just cupcakes and cookies. Perfection if you ask me. LOL I haven't had such a sugar rush in ages, but man was it ever worth it. I just wish they were closer so I could get them more often.

MAGIC!!!
check Zimt's site for a list of places that carry them. You can get them at most Whole Foods except for Robson. That location is the worst. Its my go-to but they are always outta stuff or don't carry products I love like tempeh bacon. LOL and these bars. BUT I know that the Loving Hut Express food truck just started carrying these bars so now when I get my amazing burger I can get my amazing chocolate bars. BOOM

Peace

xoxo

K


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Restaurant Review: Rebellious Tomato

The best green deal company, Ethical Deal, ran one for Rebellious Tomato a couple weeks ago and I snatched that up. Its not a vegan pizza shop, but it has tons of vegetarian pizzas and also has vegan cheese!!! I love the Vegan Pizza House on Kingsway but to have a shop I can just walk to a few blocks down is pretty awesome.

There menu is great and if you're a meat eater or have one in your life, this place is awesome cuz everyone will be happy. The pizza is just delish. I like the thin crust. So you get more pizza versus just filling up on the crust. The deal was for 2 medium pizzas. DONE!

I got the Thai Curry Veg with Chilies and the Sweet Inferno, both vegan. Yummers. Like I said, I liked the thin crust. Allows me to eat more without feeling like barfing from eating so much bread. And you taste more of the ingredients by having a thin crust. It had the perfect amount of cheese on it. Not too much that its overpowering and enough that I didn't think they skimped out. 

Sweet Inferno



Thai Curry Veg

Sorry, but I was really hungry. I had just got back from Whistler that afternoon, was kinda hung over, tired, and was sorta boozed. My friends were all enjoying the sun on a patio drinking pitchers of beer so of course I joined them. Life is boring if you're sitting around. Gotta get out there and enjoy it!! After that, I was starving and pizza is always a good idea after drinking your weight in beer. :) I got a little excited and ate a couple slices before I realized I hadn't taken a picture. I was going to nap but there are so few patio days in Vancouver I had to get out there!! 

The only complaint I would have is that there isn't enough chilies on it. But I guess that's just my preference towards spicy food. So I sriracha'd the shit outta it! DUH!

Check them out! They have 2 locations, one on Denman Street at Robson ish and one in North Vancouver. 

Peace

xoxo

K

Rebellious Tomato on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Tough Mudder in Whistler!!!

SOOooooo as you may or may not remember, I did Tough Mudder in Whistler this past weekend. I was pretty freaking nervous about it. The videos are crazy intense, the strength they say you need is way more than I have so I had some pre-race nerves. But I have to say it was AWESOME!!!  I kicked some serious ass. I rocked it! It was 12 miles or 19 km's for us Canadian folk. In Whistler so lots of hills but nothing too crazy other than having to hike up one of the runs that was straight up, no big deal.

We had to jump in an ice bath, crawl in mud under barb wire, crawl in water under live wires, jump in a frozen lake, run LOTS, hike up a ski run, hike down a MUDDY trail (and I mean up to your waist in some spots), monkey bars, run through lots of live wires, walk through manure mud, rope climbing in the arctic snow, carried a log up a steep hill and down, run and jump up a quarter pipe (mind you it was into the arms of a hunky man) and climbed over 12 foot walls. There was 20 obstacles over the 19km's.

I've never been such a baddass chick and also scream like a girl at the same time before. LOL Like I said I kicked ass, I was first to complete lots of obstacles in my group, but at the same time I would scream and gasp at all the mud and poo mud and all the times I almost wiped out. haha. 

I finished it with half my body covered in bruises, no joke. HUGE bruises. Looks like I've been beaten. I also have a cracked rib but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I've pre-registered for next year. Check out some of the pics and food I ate. I only ate veggie burgers and protein bars the whole weekend. Plus my vega shakes and lots and lots of beer and vodka. After the race though. :)

Part of team Briefed pre-race

My race buddy Sonya

My other race buddy Steve
   
After the monkey bars
Black Bean burger w/ jalapeno's from Mixs Grill
Mix Grill is above Ric's. Good burger. But nothing special. I had to add ketchup. There was no sauce. I asked for no mayo or cheese. They didn't even add ketchup of mustard. Weird.

Veggie Burger from Amsterdam cafe
 Same thing, good burger, but nothing special. No sauce. Had to add mustard and ketchup. But at least they gave me mustard without asking.

Falafel burger from Ingrids Cafe
By far the best veggie burger in Whistler. The pattie itself is full of falafel flavour. Comes with lettuce, sprouts, avocado, onion, peppers, carrots and tzatziki sauce but obvs I didn't have that.

Just a side note, NO BURGER WILL COMPARE TO THE LOVING HUT EXPRESS food truck. NONE. They have ruined me for all other veggie burgers. The bar is set high. Good luck Terra V Burgers.

SO all in all, there are some good options. I went all out this weekend cuz I did tough mudder. LOL so I ate a lot more burgers than normal. PLUS I was with a lot of guys and didn't want to seem to picky by having to eat at specific places. So I just said we had to eat where I could get a veggie burger. AND the day before meal had to be carborific and protein rich and so did the post race meal. So veggie burgers were the easiest option.

Peace

xoxo

K




Ingrid's Village Café on UrbanspoonAmsterdam Cafe Pub on UrbanspoonMix by Ric's Whistler on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Restaurant Review: GRUB

Sunday was Father's Day and I took my awesome Dad to GRUB on Main Street. I have wanted to check this place out for a while, but because of its location (off the island) I have yet to. PS I call downtown Vancouver the island. Ha. Anyhoo, I thought Father's Day would be the perfect time. 

This place is so cool. Its not a vegan or vegetarian restaurant, but a place that has a small fixed menu but its pride and joy is the fresh sheet. The fresh sheet changes daily and is whatever they have fresh/ seasonal and whatever peaks their fancy. Its such a creative way to run a kitchen and I truly admire them for it. I imagine it could get pretty boring making the same thing over and over again. This keeps your skills honed, your creative juices flowing, and your customers coming back. 

The cool part of this restaurant is that they also have a vegan option every day as part of the fresh sheet!!! lol And the daily dessert is also vegan! BOOM. We decided on the 3 course option. You got to choose an appy which was the soup or a antipasto platter, a fresh sheet dish and a dessert. The meat option was $32 and the vegan option was $28. Super good deal and you know how I like to eat, so trying 3 dishes versus 1 is the best possible situation. LOL

Lentil Soup
We both had the lentil soup to start because it sounded so good. It was a lentil chili lime with a yogurt topping, but vegan is not done with the yogurt obvs. It was pretty tasty and the soaked bread was...well perfection. 

Next up is my main fresh sheet dish:

Vegan Fresh Sheet Dish
The vegan option was a mushroom and chickpea kofka baked in spiced roasted vegetable ragout with vegan cheese, sweet potato, yam and beet hash and fennel with smokey red pepper coulis. Like WOAH. Honestly, vegan or not, wouldn't you eat the ish outta that?! My Dad kinda wished he wanted it. It was some serious yumminess. I could barely talk during this meal. And if you know me.....I talk a lot. lol

Now vegans/vegetarians, look away. I took a shot of my Dad's food because well it looked pretty phenomenal. Not that I wanted to eat it but the foodie in me knew it was good. I actually was part of the convincing of getting the lamb. It just sounded awesome.

Lamb Fresh Sheet Dish
The lamb dish was roasted half rack of lamb with roasted yam pudding, butternut squash, coconut and red pepper ragout with a minted goat cheese drizzle. Derish, right? If it wasn't for the meat, I'd eat the ish outta that too. The yam pudding part looking amazing. And I love butternut squash. :) So creative too by adding the mint in a goat cheese drizzle. Mint is often served with lamb and this seemed like a creative, modern way to do so.

Next and most importantly, the vegan dessert. This I actually couldn't talk at all. My Dad was talking, lol but I couldn't hear a word. I did a lot of Mmmm's and oh yahh's. lol

Vegan fresh sheet dessert
The vegan dessert was a rum spiced cake layered with a chocolate ganache and drizzled with a coconut caramel sauce. The ganache was really something special. I was having a LOVE affair with this cake. I can't even begin to describe how amazing this cake was. All I got is WOW.

So obviously you can tell that I REALLY loved this place. Its hard to find a place that is a fancier vegan meal versus the typical casual food. I love casual dining. Its usually the best. But its nice to know their are some good date spots out there. Especially ones where your date can eat too. Vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians and meat eaters can all eat there. For reals. They actually have items listed for all these types of diets. I'm VERY impressed. SO go now! Run!

Grub on Urbanspoon

Peace

xoxo

K

Monday, June 18, 2012

Restaurant Review: The Eatery

On Saturday I was FINALLY taken to The Eatery on West Broadway. It is a funky outlandish kind of Japanese restaurant that is totally vegan/vegetarian friendly. The online menu is in NO way close to what they actually serve. There is SO much more in the restaurant. It was actually overwhelming. lol They had this whole huge page of veggie rolls. Unfort I can't remember them all but they were SOOOOO creative. Like the popeye, which was a roll with spinach and a peanut sauce drizzled on top. And a roll that had sundried tomatoes and then deep fried avocado on top. OMG that one was Derish!!!!

What we did, which was smart, was ordered a platter. Again, soooo sorry, but I can't remember what the platter was called. But I think it had about 5 or 6 rolls plus 2 tamago and 2 inari. I didn't eat the tamago obvs. And we also got a wakame salad, but I forgot. Too distracted clearly. ;)


The 2 in the middle, the yellow ones are done with a soy bean wrap instead of seaweed. I think we had one called the Moby and it had sauteed mushrooms on top in a sweet soy dressing with asparagus inside. YUMMMMMMMMM! They actually had 2 or 3 mushroom rolls. Big smiles over here!

The rolls all had cool names like the John Lennon, the Moby, Popeye....etc. I think there were other veggie dishes too but I was so impressed by the veggie sushi menu I just cudn't even look. I'm DEFINITELY going back. Repeatedly. Its a majah reason to leave the island. lol 

SO make sure you go check this place out! Its freaking phe-nom and has a cool vibe. There's brightly coloured octopus arms everywhere and a whole fishy/fisherman feel to it. Not your typical sushi joint. The only complaint I have is that we ordered it with brown rice but they forgot. But that said, they gave us a little discount as a sorry. No biggy. It happens. I like white rice too. 

The Eatery on Urbanspoon

Peace

xoxo

K

Friday, June 15, 2012

Restaurant Review: Cafe Kathmandu

I picked up the Ethical Deal for Cafe Kathmandu  the other week and cashed in on that gold mine on Tuesday. As you know, I love trying new restaurants (new and new to me) and new foods. I'm pretty much game to try anything, as long as its vegan of course.

Cafe Kathmandu is a Himalayan restaurant on Commercial Drive. Conventiently located next door to my fave breaky spot. Too bad I can't go from one to the other. I'd have a serious food baby happening. lol This awesome joint has been serving Nepali food since 2006. Its actually the first one in Vancouver. And I'm sad to say it took me this long to get to it. 

The menu is pretty awesome. Its pretty much a free for all for vegans cuz any dish that doesn't have meat is vegan. There is no dairy in any of the dishes. Which to me is amazing. It was pretty hard to choose. I wanted to try every veggie dish. Kevin and I had to talk the menu out cuz we were having such a hard time choosing. I'm sure I've mentioned before that Kevin is not vegan, just eats awesome like me sometimes. Lol He decided to eat vegan so we could order more things and share. I like more. The more food the better. I always want to try as many dishes as I can. 

Momo
Momo's are steamed dumplings with your choice of pork or some other meat, lol, or veggie. Which we got obvs. OMG so yummy and cute.They came with some sauces, one hot, tomato and cilantro. All yummy. I usually dislike cilantro but this was probs my fave. The hot sauce one was super hot! Love that. I saved it for our other dishes.


Don't you just wanna gobble that up? Kevin ate his like a lady and cut them in half. I threw it in my mouth just the way it was. LOL I'm classy like that. It was the perfect one bite size.


Then we ordered the Daal Jhaaneko and the Quaanti. We ordered them hot but it wasn't spicy at all. I was told this by some friends, but forgot. That's why I saved the hot sauce. lol BUT the lack of hotness did not detract from the yumminess of the dishes. Daal is "Lentil puree accented with caramelized onions, ginger and roasted red chili seeds" and Quaanti is "Sprouted mixed beans simmered with roasted coriander seeds and dried Himalayan chives". Both were super yummy, probs one of the best Daal's I've had.

I'd def go back there. Soon I hope because there were so many other menu items I want to try. It was hard to choose. And if you go with a meat eating friend, they can eat too! Food for everyone! lol

Café Kathmandu on Urbanspoon

Peace

xoxo

K

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Avocado Kale Salad

It being summer and all.....well somewhere in the world, salads are an every day occurrence. I am no rabbit food eater by any means, my salads are baddass and hearty. Elaine Benice would DIE for my big salads. No joke. lol The one I made the other day was pretty phenomenal. The avocado made it kinda creamy and the lemon made it zesty! 

Avocado Kale Salad
Ingredients
1/2 head kale, chopped
3 handfuls spinach
1 avocado
1 carrot, sliced or shredded
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp hemp seeds
2 tbsp sunflower seeds

Directions:
Wash your hands. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Massage and mix until fully combined. Make sure your avocado is ripe otherwise it won't break up and coat the leaves. Will take 1-2 minutes.

Plant based heaven




I served mine with sauteed garlic mushrooms, tempeh bacon, sprouted mixed beans, and 3 slices of smoked tofu. Obviously you can tell I'm a pig. LOL I eat a lot, but its all good stuff. With the leftovers I basically combined all of the above into a big container and ate it for lunch the next day. Along with some boiled sweet potatoes. :)

For my garlic mushrooms, I saute them without oil, just a tiny splash of water then a pinch of sea salt and garlic powder. My sprouted mixed beans are by TruRoots Organics. The sprouted bean trio. They cook up in 15 mins and then I just tossed them in some Jerk sauce. As for the smoked tofu and tempeh bacon, I just popped it in the oven for 20ish minutes. No seasoning or sauce. None needed.  

Jerk

I have to say, it was a thoroughly satisfying dinner. I am actually gonna make the salad again tomorrow night. It was so freaking yummy. But I'm gonna add some alfalfa or broccoli sprouts too. 

This weekend I was FINALLY able to bring my friend Sean to the Loving Hut Express food truck on Davie and Pacific. I've been talking about these burgers forever. I CANNOT get enough of them. They are just SO tasty. Sean thought he was going to be a tad disappointed because of how much I talked them up but boy did he like them! I got the Crispy Chick'N and he got the BBQ Onion Ring Cheeseburger. They are my faves so I thought we should get one of each and share bites. Check out their menu here. And go visit them at Davie and Pacific.



I've done a couple reviews though, so check em both out. Here and here.

I would have snapped a shot of us eating our delicacies but we were a tad hung over. So here's one of us all pretty before going out to our friends theme party on Saturday. We were a Prince and Prince-mess. We had a whole back story but its not PG13. 
Prince and Prince-mess
Peace

xoxo

K


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

SunWarrior is AWESOME!!!



My good friends over at Sunwarrior have been so amazing and offered my readers and friends a discount. How awesome right? When you go to their site and make a purchase, use the code VEGVAN and you will get 5% off! BOOM. You'll also be getting an awesome product which is so tasty and nutritious. Back about a month ago I did a review, check it out here. I really enjoy this protein powder a lot. Its so clean, delicious and not grainy. It really dissolves very well. Better than most others. Its raw, hypoallergenic, plant based, alkaline, non-GMO and gluten free. 

They have a bunch of other products too, so take a look around. 

Their main site is here but the store is here. The first site will take you there once you click on store, but I included them both. 

So make sure you book mark this and don't lose that code! Discounts are always great!

So thank you to Sunwarrior and Raw Elements for offering my readers a discount! Thank you thank you! :)

Don't forget: www.sunwarrior.ca and www.rawelements.ca with code VEGVAN 

Peace

xoxo

K

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Restaurant Review: Cactus Club at English Bay

I'm not a big fan of Cactus Club to be honest. The food is average at best and well I'm a woman so its not my first choice to go to a restaurant with hot lady servers. lol That being said, its a good place for drinks and its always bumping cuz what guy doesn't want to hot lady servers. ;)

Cactus did open up a new location in my hood, English Bay. Not just in my hood, but right in the Bay, on the water. AMAZING view, obvs so I had to check it out eventually. My long time child hood girlfriend took me out for birthday drinks and eats on Saturday. I have the never ending birthday. Its awesome! It was a total surprise and I think that's what also made it even more special. 

Cactus has some summer drinks on special, one which is quite delish. I'm wine, vodka soda or the occasional beer drinker. I almost never have sweet cocktails or sugary drinks. BUT I could not resist the Sunset Soda which is a vodka soda with a splash of bellini!!! YUM! Perfect for the hot summer day we were having. 

Sunset Soda
We decided to share a couple items. Nicole isn't vegan or vegetarian but eats uber healthy like me and is wheat and gluten free. So it works out pretty well actually when we eat together.

Szechuan green beans
They were tasty and delish! Could be spicier but no biggie. 


I can't remember what this was called and for some reason I can't get onto cactus's menu. Weird. But is a salmon bowl with veggies.

We shared this dish and they were so awesome and split it up into 2 bowls. This dish was fresh, savoury and tasty. It had some of my fave veggies: broccoli, snap peas, daikon and edamame. We subbed the salmon for portobello mushrooms. The only part I didn't like was that their hot sauce was Frank's Red Hot. Although its tasty, its far too salty and its flavour is overpowering and changes the way your food tastes. But of course I love hot sauce and still used it. lol 

SOOOOO, I have to say I was pretty impressed with Cactus. Probs the best meal I've ever had there. The view, drinks and sunny Saturday might have played a part in it, but I'd def go back. Although, the line up for the patio was crazy, we were super lucky to get a spot right away with no line up. No big deal. :)

Cactus Club Cafe (English Bay) on Urbanspoon

Peace

xoxo

K



Sunday, June 10, 2012

Restaurant Review: Yew at the Four Seasons

Yew at the Four Seasons in Vancouver launched a vegan menu a couple weeks back and I've been dying to try it. I haven't been to Yew in a few years because, well there is nothing for me to eat other than a modified salad. The regular menu is pretty phenomenal though, even as a vegan it looked pretty delish. The seafood sounds just amazing. My girlfriends ordered off the regular menu and I tried the vegan one. It was so nice to have a nice fancy vegan meal as the majority is just casual dining.

I think its pretty amazing when restaurants launch vegan or vegetarian menus or at least have more than one option. Even people who just want to eat healthier like to eat a veggie meal but it also lets the restaurant tap into a growing market. Its just smart. I love going to vegan/vegetarian restaurants but its nice to go to a place that has options for everyone. So my meat eating friends can get what they want and so can I. :)

Saffron Risotto
I got the saffron risotto with roasted sweet peppers, zucchini, cured tomatoes, and lemon olive oil. It was SOOOOOO yummy! I ate every last morsel. I also loved the presentation. Love the paella dish it was served in. It was flavourful, savoury, and just down right satisfying. My girlfriends got the bouillabaise and the arctic char. Looked amazing but I didn't take a pic of their meal.

The service was also very good. They were very attentive and treated us very well. We even got some chocolates and power cookies after dinner! I can't wait to go back to try more of the dishes and especially the lunch menu. It looks delish. AND I noticed that they have 50% off bottles of wine on Sundays!!! Yes please!

So go check out the new vegan menu at Yew. You won't be disappointed. 

YEW Restaurant + Bar (Four Seasons Hotel) on Urbanspoon
Peace

xoxo

K


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Vegan Sushi Bowl

I had some leftover sushi rice from making sushi at home so I put together a little sushi bowl. So yummy and pretty easy to assemble.



Vegan Sushi Bowl
Ingredients
1-2 cups brown rice (or sushi rice)
1 cup shelled edamame
1 carrots, sliced
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 cup tofu, cubed
garlic powder
cayenne powder
1/4 avocado
sesame seeds
seaweed, chopped
Tamari (or soy sauce)
sriracha (optional)

Directions:
If using frozen edamame, cook for 2 minutes in microwave in water and drain. Pan fry cubed tofu (I used smoked tofu) in 1 tsp sesame oil with garlic powder and cayenne. I didn't measure it, just sprinkled a little bit on. Be careful with the cayenne as its spicy, if you're not into spicy, just omit it. cook tofu for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

To assemble layer the bowl: brown rice, edamame, carrots and cucmber, tofu around the edge, avocado in the middle then sprinkle sesame seeds, seaweed, soy sauce and sriracha if you're using it. And then enjoy!

TIP: if you have wasabi on hand then mix it with your tamari or soy sauce. I was too lazy to make it so I used sriracha. lol

This was very yummy and satisfying. Kinda cool to eat a deconstructed sushi roll with all the fixins'. :)

Peace

xoxo

K

Monday, June 4, 2012

Restaurant Review: Panz Veggie

I had the pleasure of going to Panz Veggie twice this week. Lol I had some dinner plans out this week and neither of them had been so off we went. Obviously if you've read my blog you know that I'm a big fan of Panz Veggie and so is my Dad. Its fantastic. I'm not gonna go on and on about it because you can read my previous posts but I will show you the pics of the dishes we tried cuz I tried a couple new ones. Oh happy day! :)

Battered Yams
Cashew Veggies
Buddha's Feast
Apparently they have 2 dishes with the same name. This kinda annoyed me cuz we wanted noodles. And they didn't ask which dish we wanted and we didn't know there was 2 with the same name. I didn't complain or anything, I did ask about it. Kinda weird that they have the same name, that should change. But either way, the dish was tasty and had some cool unusual mushrooms that I don't normally eat. And I LOVE trying new foods! LOVE.

Hot and Sour Soup
YUM! Tasted more like a traditional hot and sour soup than Paradise Noodle House. But that one was Vietnamese style. This was yummy, the broth was tasty. I enjoyed this quite a lot.

3 Wise mushrooms with Chow Mein
Braised Tofu Sheets with Chinese mushrooms
I've had this one before as well as the 3 Wise Mushrooms. I gotta say that the braised tofu sheets dish is my all time FAVE. Those crispy tofu sheets are amazeballs. Like woah. And I really love Chinese mushrooms. They are really strong in flavour but no other mushrooms tastes like them. Just delish. 

If you wanna know more about Panz Veggie, check out their site. I linked it at the top. Or you can check out one of my reviews here 

Panz Veggie Restaurant 善慈素餐廳 on Urbanspoon
Peace

xoxo

K

Brown rice veggie sushi

I just had to have homemade sushi the other night. I will def go out and pick up sushi when I'm too lazy, but I like to make my own. I'm no sushi expert, even though I am Japanese, but I'm no slouch either. I like to put non-traditional food in my sushi though. Sometimes I use fried rice, quinoa, guacamole, leftover stir fry. Just whatever I've got laying around. I did have some avocado but I also had some guac leftover that I didn't want to waste so I used that instead of just plain avocado and it was yummy! Made it spicy and stick together better. It can be tougher with brown rice cuz its drier than sushi rice. I think next time I will put a little bit more water when I cook it.....


And so it begins! I went with just the guac, carrots and cucumber in my roll. Cuz I had other parts of my meal being prepared at the same time. Mix in a little sushi vinegar with the rice before putting it on ur seaweed. DO NOT USE OTHER VINEGAR. If you don't have mirin, then just use nothing. Sushi vinegar is special. lol You can use more rice if you want, but I don't like it like that. :)

Load up ur fixins'. I put guac, cucumber, carrots and sriracha. 


Roll that sucker nice and tight. Use a little water to seal it shut. make sure its not loose. Oh and a tip for your rolling mat, cover it with saran wrap so that if any rice escapes its nice and easy to clean! Seriously, everyone does this. My Baba taught me that trick. :)


This is the part I'm the WORST at. But this time not so bad. Use a serrated knife and cut it however you like it. Mine into six. I make my own wasabi, from a powder. Mixed it with some water and then soy sauce, gluten free tamari. I used very little soy, trying to eat as little salt as possible. But I can't cut soy sauce out all together. Its pretty much in my blood. Yup, soy sauce blood. :) Its the Asian in me. ;)


I also steamed some broccoli, spinach and bok choy and topped it with garlic mushrooms and hemp seeds. The mushrooms were sauteed with water, garlic powder and a sprinkle of sea salt. YUM! Seriously my addiction right now. I eat them almost daily. As a snack. What a freak! LOL

If you've never tried making sushi, give it a go! Its not that hard and you can be way more creative when you make it yourself. And healthier. Some times I don't even cut them and just eat them whole. Or make cones. 

Hope you all had a great weekend!!!

Peace

xoxo

K